Benefits of a Combined Effort Between Police and Social Services in Child Physical or Sexual Abuse Investigations

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that the victims do not undergo trauma. The victims are interviewed jointly by both agencies to ensure they do not have to repeat the same thing repeatedly.

Are there benefits to making the two investigations separate?

The two agencies will be required to work separately. A case in point is where the abuse case is extreme and requires more psychological mentoring. The social workers may fail to involve the police if they feel that police involvement will traumatize the victim more (Tower, 2010). This is especially more so if the child is less than 8 years- old. The parents of the victim may prefer to keep the police at bay if the case is to result into a bad effect on the family at large. This move is to avert stigmatization.

Overall it is imperative for the police and social workers to work together in order to deal with the issue of child physical and sexual abuse. The parents and caregivers must also be encouraged on the need to talk with the children in order to know what the children are going through ( Staller et al., 2010). For example, children should be educated to know and recognize when touched inappropriately. The war against sexual abuse and child physical requires joint efforts between all members of the society (Tower, 2010).

Bibliography

• Staller, K. M., & Faller, K. C. (2010). Finding justice in child sexual abuse today: shifting burdens and sharing roles. New York: Columbia University Press.

• Tower, C. (2010). Understanding child abuse and neglect (8th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

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