Coordinating Child Sexual Abuse Services in Rural Communities

Despite the magnitude of the problem of child sexual abuse and the concomitant range of behavioural, emotional, and interpersonal problems in child victims, there is a dearth of services available to respond to this client population.  Interventions that do exist tend to be sparse and piecemeal in approach, with no systematic follow-up or evaluation. Often, services are available to specific target clients (usually victim and perpetrator seen separately), with little consideration directed to other family members or to the social environment in which the abusive behaviour has occurred. In rural areas these problems are compounded – hampered by travel distances, diverse population bases, and limited service resources.

Coordinating Child Sexual Abuse Services in Rural Communities reports on a three-year project concentrating on the design and implementation of a coordinated program for the treatment of child sexual abuse in rural Manitoba. The project was unusual in that it followed a rigorous research design which incorporated a matched comparison of test and control communities and assessed the impact of a ‘coordinated service model’ at family, agency, and community levels. It was also one of the rare studies to date that offered detailed information on service delivery in rural communities and assessed the impact of a ‘coordinated service model’ at family, agency, and community levels. It was also one of the rare studies to date that offered detailed information on service delivery in rural communities, including rich case material to highlight salient practice themes at both case and community levels. The book is divided into three sections: design and implementation of coordinated community services, evaluation of coordinated services, and reflections on community experience.

ELIZABETH ADKINS is Assistant Clinical Director at the Children’s Home of Winnipeg.

GEORGE MACDONALD is Supervisor of the south Team at child and Family Services of Central Manitoba.

Barry Trute is an emeritus professor in the Faculty of Social Work at the University of Calgary and the University of Manitoba.