Irit Hershkowitz – författare

This fully revised volume provides a rigorous assessment of the latest research relating to the disclosure of childhood sexual abuse, along with the practical and policy implications of the findings.

Leading researchers and practitioners from diverse and international backgrounds offer critical commentary on these findings gathered from both field and laboratory research. Building on the first edition, this book presents the research from the past twenty years on why delayed disclosure or denial is so common and what we can do about it. Chapters focus on field research interviewing reluctant children, including suspected victims of sexual abuse and other crimes, victims of trafficking, as well as young, suspected perpetrators of sexual abuse. Adding emphasis on research‑based methods for overcoming reluctance, it also explores the different dynamics and circumstances which affect disclosure patterns and the ways in which interviewers can facilitate disclosures.

Child Sexual Abuse is for researchers and practitioners from child, forensic, and clinical psychology, social work, and all legal professionals who need to understand this crime. It will also be of interest to trainee social workers specializing in child welfare and intervention.

This fully revised volume provides a rigorous assessment of the latest research relating to the disclosure of childhood sexual abuse, along with the practical and policy implications of the findings.

Leading researchers and practitioners from diverse and international backgrounds offer critical commentary on these findings gathered from both field and laboratory research. Building on the first edition, this book presents the research from the past twenty years on why delayed disclosure or denial is so common and what we can do about it. Chapters focus on field research interviewing reluctant children, including suspected victims of sexual abuse and other crimes, victims of trafficking, as well as young, suspected perpetrators of sexual abuse. Adding emphasis on research‑based methods for overcoming reluctance, it also explores the different dynamics and circumstances which affect disclosure patterns and the ways in which interviewers can facilitate disclosures.

Child Sexual Abuse is for researchers and practitioners from child, forensic, and clinical psychology, social work, and all legal professionals who need to understand this crime. It will also be of interest to trainee social workers specializing in child welfare and intervention.

Represents a scholarly and ambitious attempt to improve the quality of interviews received by the courts and minimize the risks of miscarriages of justice, for victims and defendants

This book updates the previous review of research on children’s testimony—reexamining and readdressing how the quality of information provided by young witnesses is affected by the way they are questioned. Drawing upon both experimental and field studies conducted in different countries, it summarizes evidence supporting the effectiveness of the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Protocol and showcases the Protocol’s superiority over other current interviewing techniques for eliciting detailed and forensically useful content from child complainants.

Written with both child protection professionals and researchers in mind, Tell Me What Happened: Questioning Children About Abuse offers advice and opinions drawn from actual investigative interviews as well as academic research. Its insightful chapters cover: children’s testimony; interview and questioning strategies; how investigators typically interview alleged victims; the NICHD Investigative Interview Protocols; the impact that following the Protocol has on interviews and children’s responses; interviewing victims under the age of six; interviewing children with developmental disabilities; using tools and props to complement the Protocol; training and maintaining good interviewing practices; and more.

Tell Me What Happened: Questioning Children About Abuse deserves to be read by all practitioners involved in child protection, whether as investigators, interviewers, judges, or lawyers.   

Represents a scholarly and ambitious attempt to improve the quality of interviews received by the courts and minimize the risks of miscarriages of justice, for victims and defendants

This book updates the previous review of research on children’s testimony—reexamining and readdressing how the quality of information provided by young witnesses is affected by the way they are questioned. Drawing upon both experimental and field studies conducted in different countries, it summarizes evidence supporting the effectiveness of the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Protocol and showcases the Protocol’s superiority over other current interviewing techniques for eliciting detailed and forensically useful content from child complainants.

Written with both child protection professionals and researchers in mind, Tell Me What Happened: Questioning Children About Abuse offers advice and opinions drawn from actual investigative interviews as well as academic research. Its insightful chapters cover: children’s testimony; interview and questioning strategies; how investigators typically interview alleged victims; the NICHD Investigative Interview Protocols; the impact that following the Protocol has on interviews and children’s responses; interviewing victims under the age of six; interviewing children with developmental disabilities; using tools and props to complement the Protocol; training and maintaining good interviewing practices; and more.

Tell Me What Happened: Questioning Children About Abuse deserves to be read by all practitioners involved in child protection, whether as investigators, interviewers, judges, or lawyers.