Professionals Have A Duty to Report Incidents of Childhood Sexual Abuse to Authorities

Every child has the right to live a happy childhood with hopes for a bright future. They love to play and don’t really care if they go home tired and with soiled shirt. But what happens if their right to live happily is violated? How can we mend a broken heart from being deprived of their most precious? Sexual abuse lawsuits have been continuously filed in the hopes for justice. Sexual abuse is very traumatic not just for children, but even for adults. Can you imagine how difficult it is for a child to handle this kind of situation which is even hard for adults to deal with? Children often have sexual abuses that are not reported because children do not know what to do if that thing happens to them, or they may not know it at all. They may just feel that something was taken from them and that is hard to tell it to anybody. This is the reason why in childhood sexual abuse lawsuits, mandated reporters should testify mostly in behalf of the child. Mandated reporters are those who are professionals that could determine if a child has really suffered sexual abuse. This process needs a professional to do it to make sure that there will be no psychological disturbance would be made to the child. Mandated reporters:

• Child care personnel
• Nurses
• Members of the clergy
• Social workers
• Psychologists
• Police officers
• Teachers
• Doctors

These mandated reporters should work closely with sexual abuse attorneys. However this doesn’t mean that only these people can report any suspected sexual abuse. Even neighbors can do this. They are called “permissive reporters”. They can either disclose their identity and personal information or hide it. This is to make sure that they remain protected against those who have bad intention against them. The purpose of the report is to help stop and take action against sexual abuse, so any report about it will be validated and will be used by sexual abuse attorneys to analyze the case better. However, in some states permissive reporters should disclose their true identity as part of the evidence. If they submit medical reports for the child, their names should be written also. Particularly in situations where a child has been traumatized by an even these informants can have a substantial impact on the ability to fully prosecute a criminal or civil case arising out of the case. We should be more vigilant when it comes to sexual abuses than ever, especially that even our little ones are being victimized. Parents should talk more with children to establish better communication and trust. More than anyone, they should be the one the children could run to.

Resources: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/childsexualabuse.html http://www.apa.org/pubs/info/brochures/sex-abuse.asp http://www.childinjurylaws.com/foster-care-abuse/reporting-child-abuse-not-just-the-right-thing-to-do-but-also-the-law/ http://www.rainn.org/get-information/types-of-sexual-assault/child-sexual-abuse

 -- Jonathan Rosenfeld Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers 33 North Dearborn Street Suite 1930 Chicago, IL 60602 (847) 835-8895 Fax: (847) 572-1331 Toll Free: (888) 424-5757 Rosenfeldinjurylawyers.com jonathan@rosenfeldinjurylawyers.com