Clinical practice guidelines for child sexual abuse

Children are brought by such agencies and bodies either for interventions in the wake of trauma and emotional problems and/or for inquiry and evidence gathering for use in court cases. [...]in this context, the mental health system is not required to establish whether or not CSA has occurred, as it is already known – usually, children would have reported abuse or in case of children in sex trafficking, they have been rescued through a raid on sex work institutions, and so the abuse has come to light. [INLINE:11] The activities use a range of innovative and creative methods that allow for children and adolescents to understand and reflect on situations and experiences (vs. mere information and instruction giving), and derive their conceptual understanding on personal safety from daily life situations. [...]the activities use methods such as movement games, body mapping, art, board games, adaptation of common children's group games (hopscotch), story-telling and narratives, and film clips to make learning a participatory and entertaining experience for children. Written documentation of the child's (or family's) report/account of sexual abuse in an official manner, i.e., there should be nothing loose or informal about documentation, which must also be done in a clear and meticulous wayExplaining to the child and family that there are laws about CSA (POCSO) and that it is recommended that they report the abuse with reasons for how and why it could be advantageous to them, i.e., how it would ensure the safety of the child/other children, get the perpetrator to be punished, etc.Reassuring the child and family that there would be no pressure or coercion – that ultimately no report would be made without their consent and that were they to choose, in due course/after due consideration, to report, we will assist them to do soUnderstanding the child and family's hesitancy to report, i.e., to elicit the reasons and fears they have not to want to report, and then to try and address these fears and concerns one-by-one. (should their concerns be addressed, they might be more willing to go ahead with the reporting process)Assuring the child and family that confidentiality would be maintained through the processes of reporting, i.e., the press/media/school/general public would not be aware of the identity of the child.Explaining all processes involved in reporting, to child and family, i.e., to guide and assist them through the gamut of agencies involved, from the police