‘It’s like we’re locked in a box’: Girls’ and mothers’ experiences of the police and legal system following child sexual abuse

Butterby, Kate; Hackett, Simon

doi:10.1111/chso.12490

‘It’s like we’re locked in a box’: Girls’ and mothers’ experiences of the police and legal system following child sexual abuse

Butterby, Kate; Hackett, Simon

Authors

Dr Kate Butterby kate.butterby@durham.ac.uk
Post Doctoral Research Associate

Professor Simon Hackett simon.hackett@durham.ac.uk
Professor

Abstract

This article focuses on girls’ and mothers’ experiences of police and criminal justice system responses and the impact of investigation processes following reporting of child sexual abuse. Participants spoke of a lack of timely therapeutic provision and the subsequent role of female caregivers in providing support. Problems with criminal justice processes and the subsequent impact on families’ wider lives were also discussed. Findings suggest that criminal justice processes need to be better attuned to these micro level impacts and should show more sensitivity to the overall experience of children in the aftermath of sexual abuse. Implications for practice are discussed.

Citation

Butterby, K., & Hackett, S. (2022). ‘It’s like we’re locked in a box’: Girls’ and mothers’ experiences of the police and legal system following child sexual abuse. Children & Society, 36(1), 149-165. https://doi.org/10.1111/chso.12490

Journal Article Type	Article
Acceptance Date	Aug 2, 2021
Online Publication Date	Aug 23, 2021
Publication Date	2022-01
Deposit Date	Aug 6, 2021
Publicly Available Date	Aug 23, 2022
Journal	Children & Society
Print ISSN	0951-0605
Electronic ISSN	1099-0860
Publisher	Wiley
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	36
Issue	1
Pages	149-165
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1111/chso.12490

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Copyright Statement
This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Butterby, Kate & Hackett, Simon (2022). ‘It’s like we’re locked in a box’ Girls’ and mothers’ experiences of the police and legal system following child sexual abuse. Children & Society 36(1): 149-165., which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/chso.12490. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions.