The Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Movement: Good Intentions, Flawed Methods

The modern system of investigating child sexual abuse has its roots in Senator Walter Mondale's 1973 hearings, which led to the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act of 1974. While this legislation undoubtedly helped many children, it inadvertently created problematic practices specifically in sexual abuse cases.

Sexual abuse investigators faced unique challenges. Unlike physical abuse, which often leaves visible evidence like bruises or broken bones, sexual abuse typically leaves no physical traces. This meant investigators had to rely heavily on interviews with young children who might be frightened or reluctant to disclose abuse.

 When Therapy and Investigation Collided

The critical error occurred when law enforcement and child protection agencies allowed mental health professionals to lead this new movement. The assumption was that therapists would best know how to interview children in ways that would help them reveal abuse. This blend of investigation and therapy created a fundamental issue that persists to this day.

A skilled investigator maintains neutrality, advocating neither for individuals nor causes, and follows the facts wherever they lead. Therapists, by contrast, primarily work with feelings rather than facts. As many therapists proudly state, "We are therapists, not investigators."

When these roles blend, the results can be devastating. An investigator trained to think like a therapist becomes an advocate, making genuine investigation impossible. Similarly, when therapists become interrogators, they often assume allegations are true and repeatedly ask children to demonstrate things that may never have happened.

The "One-Way Street" Problem

In the 1970s and early 1980s, the concept of false allegations of sexual abuse was virtually unheard of. The literature from this period reveals a single-minded focus on helping victims disclose abuse and convincing skeptical adults to believe them.

Psychiatrist Roland Summit, perhaps the most influential voice in the movement, wrote in his 1983 article *The Child Sexual Abuse Accommodation Syndrome* that "children never fabricate the kinds of explicit sexual manipulations they divulge in complaints or interrogations." This became dogma among sexual abuse specialists across law enforcement, child protection, and mental health.

This belief created a "one-way street" approach: try hard to get children to describe abuse; those who have been molested need help revealing the truth; those who haven't been abused will never make false accusations.

Such ideas contradicted established scientific knowledge about child development, memory, and suggestibility. All humans are suggestible, and children are particularly vulnerable to influence. Ironically, the mental health professionals who should have been most familiar with this knowledge were the ones persuading authorities that children would never say untrue things about sex, regardless of how they were interviewed.

Problematic Interview Techniques

Programs like Parents United's Child Sexual Abuse Treatment Program (CSATP) trained thousands to ignore crucial distinctions between investigation and therapy. Their manual instructed police to see themselves as "treatment facilitators" and therapists to play key roles in investigations.

Even more problematic were the interview methods promoted by social worker Kee MacFarlane, who pioneered techniques using puppets that would "speak for the child." Her approach featured an unrelenting determination to help children "tell the yucky secrets," effectively refusing to take "no" for an answer.

The McMartin preschool case provides a troubling example of these techniques. In one interview, MacFarlane questioned an eight-year-old boy about Ray Buckey, the prime suspect:

MacFarlane: Here's a hard question... Did you ever see anything come out of Mr. Ray's wiener?

Child: [no response]

MacFarlane: Can you remember back that far? We'll see how good your brain is working today, Pac-man.

Child: [Shifts puppet, but says nothing.]

MacFarlane: Is that a yes?

Child: [Nods puppet]

The interview continues with increasingly leading questions until the child eventually provides answers that align with the interviewer's suggestions.

While most professionals today acknowledge that such methods are problematic, similar patterns persist. Children are still interviewed in play therapy settings using drawings, dolls, and puppets as aids to memory. The "believe the child" doctrine remains selectively applied—statements of abuse are believed regardless of how suggestive the interview, while denials are dismissed as the child being "in denial."

Medical Validation Without Science

To strengthen their cases, reformers sought physical evidence from medical examinations. Soon, physicians and nurses on newly established "sex abuse examining teams" claimed to find subtle indicators of prior abuse, despite a complete lack of scientific evidence supporting such claims.

Consequences That Continue Today

The legacy of these flawed approaches continues to influence our current system. Investigators still often see themselves as defenders of children, seeking to corroborate charges rather than evaluate them objectively.

As cases like McMartin demonstrated, children can be led to make untrue accusations through suggestive interviewing techniques. Yet despite growing awareness of these problems, many police investigators, child protection workers, and prosecutors continue to be trained in models that prioritize advocacy over objective investigation.

The protection of children from sexual abuse remains a vital societal goal. But achieving this requires methods grounded in sound science and proper investigative protocols, not well-intentioned but fundamentally flawed approaches that can create as many victims as they help.