Community Response to Child Sexual Abuse in Day-Care Settings

Abstract

Models of public response to child sexual abuse have been designed to handle “ordinary” abuse cases, that is, intrafamilial cases with one perpetrator and one victim. These models break down when day-care abuse occurs. In such instances, the scale is larger, the details less predictable, and the context more volatile and more public. The authors review the aspects of day-care-center abuse that complicate public response, based on the results of a national survey. Findings from an intensive case study of a multivictim day-care sexual-abuse case in a small Midwestern community are presented. Analyses suggest ways to improve public response in future cases.