THEORETICAL-PRACTICAL CONSTRUCTS IN RESEARCH ON CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE

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Svetlana V. Markova, Catherine А. Nikitskaya, Maria A. Erofeeva

Abstract

The importance of the problem of sexual violence is beyond doubt in contemporary psychological and pedagogical theory and practice both in Russia and in the world. Over the past three years, law enforcement agencies have recorded an increase in crimes that include sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children and adolescents, with rape and violent acts of a sexual nature accounting for a significant proportion of these crimes. This article discusses an interdisciplinary approach to analyzing the problem of sexual violence against minors. The risk factors of sexual crimes identified in the article may be of interest to practitioners in various fields (lawyers, psychologists, teachers, police, and social workers) for corrective and preventive work with children and adolescents. The authors make a clear distinction between the concepts of a pedophile and a person who commits sexual violence against minors, myths about the identity of the offender, his or her motivation for committing the crime, and experience working with sexual aggressors in the United States in Psychological Centers. The markers presented that identify a child as a possible victim of violence and the psychological consequences of violence described can be relevant to the parent community.

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