Categorizing Complainant-Accused Relationships in Cases of Child Sexual Abuse: The Distinctive Nature of Community Connections

Abstract

We examined the categorization of relationships between child complainants and accused perpetrators in cases of child sexual abuse (CSA). Researchers that have focused on complainant-accused relationships and other case variables, often combining two extrafamilial complainant-accused relationship categories: Relationships where the accused is connected to the child through their position in the community (i.e. community connections) and relationships where the non-relative accused is known to the child through a connection to the child's family (i.e. non-relative family connections). Using a database of 4,237 Canadian judicial decisions in cases of CSA, we reviewed a subset of 1,515 judicial decisions to explore differences between these two relationship categories. Compared to cases involving non-relative family connections, cases involving community connections had more male complainants, more multiple complainants, older complainants, higher frequencies of abuse, longer durations, and longer delays. We conclude that community and non-relative family connections are distinct relationships that should be separated for analyses in future research. Practical implications of recognizing the distinctiveness of non-relative family and community connection relationship categories in the context of abuse prevention and treatment are also discussed.

Keywords: Child sexual abuse; abuse; children; community; judicial decisions; relationship.