Title: Ethical Dilemmas in Reporting Suspected Child Abuse: A Case Study Analysis. Abstract: This research essay explores the ethical issues surrounding the case of a young girl suspected of abuse by her father, as described by her concerned sibling. Using Rae's methodology for ethical decision-making, the essay examines the various considerations involved in reporting such abuse, including the potential consequences for the family, the credibility of the accuser, and the duty to protect the vulnerable. The essay also considers the role of institutions, such as the church and Child Line, in addressing cases of suspected abuse. Ultimately, the essay argues that while reporting abuse can have significant consequences, the ethical imperative …show more content…
An adolescent suspects their father of assaulting their younger sister. The father is the sole breadwinner, and the entire family relies on him financially. The mother appears aware, yet helpless to act. The teenager is divided between familial loyalty and the desire to protect their sister. Ethical Issue: The ethical question in this scenario is whether to disclose suspected child abuse despite probable negative implications for the family, such as financial difficulty or social humiliation. Furthermore, the accuser's veracity is called into question, given the father's recognized standing in the community and church. Furthermore, there is the issue of protecting the vulnerable, in this case, a fourteen-year-old girl who is reportedly being molested. Other concerns include the teenager's reluctance to approach their father, the mother's seeming passivity, and the potential repercussions of reporting the abuse, such as the father's incarceration and the family's financial security. Gathering Relevant Information: To make an educated …show more content…
Consideration of Alternative Courses of Action: This type of situation has several options for action. The protagonist might face their father personally and attempt to resolve the situation inside the family. They may also seek assistance from other family members or friends to intercede on their behalf. Alternatively, they might report the abuse to ChildLine or the police, regardless of the possible implications for the family. Each solution carries both benefits and hazards. Making Decisions Based on Ethical Principles: It is crucial to keep the ethical standards that are guiding our behaviour in mind when making decisions. These consist of the autonomy, justice, beneficence, and non-maleficence principles. In this instance, the beneficence principle implies that the victim's welfare should come first, even if doing so means taking steps that could be detrimental to the victim's family. This viewpoint is also supported by the principle of non-maleficence, which calls on us to stop harming other people. Regardless of their social standing or place in the community, everyone should be treated fairly and
Patients who deny suggested consideration represent a critical test in the emergency department. Such patients can be uncooperative, and their capacity to comprehend data may be impeded by medicinal pathology or intoxicants. The outcomes of a choice to reject emergency consideration may be not kidding and lasting. The numerous contending requests of an occupied Emergency treatment now and then make it troublesome for doctors to appropriately survey such patients before they are permitted to leave.
The caretakers’ response to a child 's disclosure of sexual abuse is important. Asking about caretakers’ emotional state and support systems can be helpful in optimizing services for the family. Significant concerns for child safety are raised when a caretaker is openly disbelieving of a child 's disclosure and when a caretaker allows further contact between a child and the suspected perpetrator of abuse. (p. 21)
By using The Case of Sally for this case study, I will work through the ethical decision making model to decide the best course of action. The Case of Sally can be found in Issues and Ethics in the Helping Professions (8th edition), chapter 6 Confidentiality: Ethical and Legal Issues (p. 255). The therapist is having difficulty in determining if she has the ethical and legal responsibility to breach confidentiality. This case involves a 12-year-old girl named Sally, who experienced a brief encounter of sexual fondling by her intoxicated father. The father has no previous history of molesting his daughter. He has agreed to seek substance abuse counseling as a result of his inability to recollect the fondling incident. The family is
Abortion has been a political, social, and personal topic for many years now. The woman’s right to choose has become a law that is still debated, argued and fought over, even though it has been passed. This paper will examine a specific example where abortion is encouraged, identify the Christian world views beliefs and resolution as well as the consequences of such, and compare them with another option.
It is way too often that we hear about children getting abused by someone who is meant to protect them; that someone can be a parent, a grandparent, an aunt or an uncle. The abuse can be in many forms; mental, physical or emotional; it can be a combination of or all of these. This paper is about the abuse and torture of a young boy. This paper will tell how this case came to the attention of the authorities and discuss the crime, and who was accused, prosecuted and ultimately convicted of the abuse.
The purpose of this posting is to explain what privacy and confidentiality mean and then review the case study about the options of reporting abuse in a child and what principles of ethics are involved with it.
Child sexual abuse is defined as “the involvement of a child in sexual activity that he or she does not fully comprehend, is unable to give informed consent to, or for which the child is not developmentally prepared, or else that violates the laws or social taboos of society” (Ajduković, Sušac, and Rajter 470). In Bastard out of Carolina, Ruth Ann “Bone” Boatwright started experiencing sexual child abuse from her stepfather at the age of twelve, which changed aspects of her life forever. Coincidentally, it was proven through research that young girls between the ages of 13 and 16 suffered sexual abuse by adult men that they knew previously (Ajduković, Sušac, and Rajter 475). While it could be a family member, an acquaintance, or a friend, the feelings of betrayal remain the same.
Lyon, T. D., Scurich, N., Choi, K., Handmaker, S., & Blank, R. (2012). "how did you feel?": Increasing child sexual abuse witnesses' production of evaluative information. Law and Human Behavior, 36(5), 448-457.
Many children who have experienced sexual abuse do not realize the impact it has on their lives. Children are afraid to break the silence about their sexual abuse and report it because of the reaction from parents, family members, or the fear of breaking up the family. Children keep quiet about their sexual abuse because of their involvement and fear of being rejected by others. Children may also keep silent due to the fear of their perpetrator or their perpetrator has trained the child to believe it was their fault. Many children who have never received the proper help will suffer with long lasting effects from sexual abuse. It is very important to counsel children who have been sexually abused at a young age. Sexual abuse can be very harmful in a child’s younger and adolescent years when developing in the ...
Children have an unconditional trust for their parents the moment they are born. This trust is generalized to many adults; however, some seemingly trustworthy adults can be the most dangerous by taking advantage of a child’s innocence. Cruise (2004) states that most children know their perpetrator and feel comfortable in their presence. Breaking such a genuine trust causes lifelong detrimental consequences. Childhood sexual abuse has many definitions, but Collin-Vézina, Daigneault, and Hébert (2013) define it “as any sexual activity perpetrated against a minor by threat, force, intimidation, or manipulation” (p. 7). Despite the form of sexual abuse, children are not developmentally prepared physically or emotionally to see, hear or experience this type of act. Although adults view childhood sexual abuse as a clear violation of boundaries, children may not completely believe it is the perpetrators fault. Children can have a multitude of beliefs such as they deserve the abuse, the abuse it their fault, and that abuse is a way that the perpetrator shows love. Unfortunately, many children do not talk about the abuse, so parents and guardians need to be aware of the warning signs that sexual abuse is possibly occurring.
In the news today we frequently hear about pedophiles and child molesters. We have heard the horror stories of priest and bishops molesting boys, public school teachers having sex with students, and family members molesting children. While it is still taboo, the public view of a child molester has changed in the past years. It used to be that when we thought of a pedophile, we thought of a scary man lurking behind the bushes. This is not the case today, most of the cases of child molestation are by a person known to the child, whether it be a family member or a family friend.(Herkov, 2012)
Everyone in this world has experienced an ethical dilemma in different situations and this may arise between one or more individuals. Ethical dilemma is a situation where people have to make complex decisions and are influenced based on personal interest, social environment or norms, and religious beliefs (“Strategic Leadership”, n.d.). The leaders and managers in the company should set guidelines to ensure employees are aware and have a better chance to solve and make ethical decisions. Employees are also responsible in understanding their ethical obligations in order to maintain a positive work environment. The purpose of this case study is to identify the dilemma and analyze different decisions to find ways on how a person should act
There are many different types of victims we have discussed over the course of this class, but we’re only going to talk about two types in the following paper. These two types of victims are common just as any another victim across America. These include sex assault victims and child abuse victims, which are both primary victims in cases. The two share a tie together, both are a victim of abuse and can cause lifelong consequences, but they also pose many differences as well. Many questions arise when talking about victims, for example why is a child or adult being abused and what are the life altering affects to these actions. Throughout this paper we discuss both sexual assault victims and child abuse victims and compare and contrast between the two.
In today’s society we are dealing with many cases of child abuse every year. Daily there's a child report case and they don’t all get reported. People toward the subject of reporting abuse comes in different point of views. The first point of view, people feel like we should have the responsibility to report any child abuse. The other point of view, people shouldn’t be held accountable to report child abuse because it’s not in their right to do so.
More importantly, “60 percent of children who are sexually abused do not disclose and most are acquaintances but as many as 47 percent are family or extended family” (The Scope of, 2016). The prevalence of child sexual abuse is difficult to determine because it is often not reported; experts agree that the incidence is far greater than what is reported to authorities (Child Sexual Abuse, 2012). Startling statistics represent the depth of the issue. Globally, prevalence rates show that a range of 7-36% of women and 3-29% of men experience sexual abuse in childhood (The Scope of, 2016). “The U.S Department of Health and Human Services’ Children’s Bureau report child maltreatment 2010 found that 9.2% of victimized children were sexually assaulted” (Child Sexual Abuse,