Child Sexual Abuse Reporting Processes: The Impact of School Culture and Technology

• In Event: Research, Remedy, and Repair: An Administrator’s Guide to Preventing School Employee Sexual Misconduct

Abstract

Child Sexual Abuse Reporting Processes: The Impact of School Culture and Technology

The primary objective of this presentation is to highlight the practices and challenges associated with Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) reporting in school (?) districts in the United States. Specifically, it focuses on the role of school culture in influencing these processes and explores the impact of technology in the process of reporting, documenting, and establishing credibility in reported CSA cases. This presentation seeks to highlight the importance of a balanced approach to prevent and manage CSA in schools effectively.

Finkelhor and Araji's (1986) note in their framework on adult perpetrator CSA that having effective policies and procedures, clear boundaries, and vigilant staff are crucial in preventing educator sexual misconduct. As effective as they may be, policies and procedures, such as technological reporting tools, are not enough on their own to prevent educator sexual misconduct. A positive school culture, where educators and employees are committed to reporting inappropriate behavior or boundary crossing and feel comfortable enough doing so, also plays a significant role in deterring adults from abusing students in their care.

This presentation reports findings from the qualitative portion of a large, stepped-wedge design study where the intervention was rolled out sequentially. The qualitative aspect of the study comprised of interviews with administrators in schools across the US. Some of the schools in the sample have never had a CSA incident, while others implemented technological tools to report and monitor reports of CSA after an incident in their school or district. The study findings provide insights into the challenges faced by schools in their use of CSA reporting systems and the impact of school culture on the willingness and ability to report and assess CSA incidents. While CSA reporting software can be an essential tool for managing the reporting process, additional effort is required to establish credibility with these reports, especially because there is a need to be sensitive to cultural norms and practices in different school communities.

Our hope is that this presentation, and research project at large, will contribute to the understanding of CSA reporting by highlighting the interplay between technology and organizational culture. It underscores the need for a holistic approach in the design and implementation of CSA reporting tools, considering both technological and cultural dimensions.

The objective of the presentation is to examine sexual misconduct toward home school students and to understand the differences between how abuse occurs in homeschooling settings as opposed to public schools.

President, National Home Education Research Institute

Authors

• Anneliese Smilde, ChildUSA

• Emiola Oyefuga, Virginia Commonwealth University