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The Christchurch Civic
Creche Case |
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Emeritus Professor Freda Briggs
(Feb 21) suggest I'm in denial that child abuse occurs. Such a comment is
unworthy of someone in her position. Far from being vitriolic, I
pointed out that to my knowledge Briggs has published few articles in
reputable peer-reviewed journals. It is not clear to me if the University of
South Australia was aware of this when it appointed her to her current
position. On her web page is a list of areas
in which she claims to have expertise. Child sexual abuse is not on that
list. She claims that a 44 per cent
sex-abuse rate is not unusual for children with disabilities. A 2003
literature review, published in the British Journal of Psychiatry, concluded
that unfortunately the vast majority of the studies reviewed did not report
on the certainty of abuse having occurred. Being certain that abuse has
occurred is vital when making claims about its incidence. It is possible that
the sex-abuse incidence rate in Briggs's study was inflated by the inclusion
of non-abused children. Researchers are usually happy to explain the
limitations of their research. It would be helpful if Freda Briggs explained
the limitations of hers. |
