Citation

Naylor B. Br. J. Criminol. 1989; 29(4): 395-407.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1989, Centre for Crime and Justice Studies, Publisher Oxford University Press)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Sexual assault on children first came on to the national--and international--agenda in the early 1980s. Since then, public attitudes have gone from shocked disbelief to shocked acceptance, with recent events in Cleveland perhaps indicating a return swing of the pendulum, in some quarters, towards cynicism. Meanwhile bureaucracies and researchers, moving more slowly and cautiously but driven by the growing evidence of significant levels of abuse, have been recommending, and even producing, change. This article examines recent developments in psychological research on child memory, in the law relating to child victims, and in the management of allegations of abuse.