August 2002 Shirley Julich : Moral Panic Bandwagon research
Shirley Julich gets reported by Chris Schultz in the North Shore Times and Western Leader The result of six years of "research". Extraordinary claims with no evidence: Julich interviews 26 people and from these interviews claims that 25% of girls are sexually abused"; the cost to NZ is $2.4 billion; and that only 7.5% of victims report being sexually abused!	Gordon Waugh points out that Julich is being "outrageously misleading". Her reported conclusions "rely on inadequate data, ill-informed speculation, discredited ideology and misguided beliefs. No doubt Dr Julich will now be treated as an "expert" and will influence social policy. And Massey University will continue to award doctorates for this sort of appalling drivel"
Western Leader August 15, 2002 Abuse carries steep price by Chris Schultz Shirley Julich says 25 per cent of girls and 9 per cent of boys are sexually abused in some way by the time they reach 16. Reporter Chris Schultz talks to Dr Julich who spent six years finding out how much sexual abuse is costing New Zealand. Shirley Julich didn't realise what she was in for when she decided to do her doctoral thesis on the price New Zealand pays for its high rate of sexual abuse. Now, after six years of research, 26 interview, months of writing and two soul-searching moments where she almost gave it all away, Dr Julich has reached some appalling conclusions. She says the sexual abuse of children is costing New Zealand $2.4 billion a year. The figure comes from adding together the cost of lost earning, extra health bills and the unmet potential of adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse. Dr Julich also found 8,600 children in New Zealand are sexually abused for the FIRST time EVERY year. Her research shows only 7.5 per cent of adult victims ever report their abuse. She found an offender averages 50 victims before being caught. During her research for her doctorate in social policy, she interviewed 21 adult survivors of sexual abuse, two counsellors, two jurors and a judge. She appealed from people to take part in her study through a self-help group for sexual abuse survivors. Dr Julich, who did her studies at Massey University's Albany campus, decided to investigate the relationship between justice, childhood sexual abuse and the maintenance of silence by adult survivors. She often found the interviews so harrowing, she would jump in her car afterwards and drive around the corner, to stop and "have a little cry". Dr Julich became "very despondent" when she realised the people she was interviewing didn't want to see their abusers criminally charged. She found the victims were affected by "Stockholm Syndrome", an emotional bond that occurs between a victim and aggressor, as well as fearing social attitudes that could stigmatise them. "Survivors said that as children they were threatened with their families falling apart or loved ones going to jail if they told," she says. "In one case, a girl knew if she told anyone her mother would be beaten. No one wants to believe someone in their family is capable of these things." But it's not only girls who are abused an men offending. Dr Julich believes men may be abused in the same numbers as women, but they are much less likely to tell anyone about it. The results of sexual abuse for many victims is low self-worth, alcohol and drug abuse and ongoing psychological problems, Dr Julich says. Prevention of sexual abuse should be a priority in New Zealand because of the ongoing cost, she says. "We have to examine our understandings of femininity and masculinity and how we teach that to our children," she says. "We need to stop and say 'should be bring our little girls up to be submissive, and should we bring up our little boys to be aggressive?" "Somewhere we're making it OK for men to abuse." North Shore Times July 25, 2002 Child abuse costs $2.4b by Chris Schulz The sexual abuse of children is costing New Zealand at least $2.4 billion a year, says a Massey University Albany campus researcher. Shirley Julich, a Northcote resident, spent six years investigating the relationship between justice, sexual abuse and the maintenance of silence by adult survivors. The estimated $2.4b figure comes from calculating what adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse cost New Zealand in lost earnings, extra health bills and unmet potential. For her study, Dr Julich interviewed a judge, two jurors, two counsellors and 21 adult survivors. She found adult survivors kept silent about abuse, even years after they had moved out of the situation and felt they could safely report it. They kept silent for two reasons, Dr Julich says: deeply entrenched social attitudes that would stigmatise them, and Stockholm Syndrome, fears of repercussions by the abuser. "Just 7.5 per cent of adult victims report childhood sexual abuse to the police, whereas 90 per cent of people report a stolen car," she says. This silence delays victims' recovery and contributes to the cost to society, and to the victims. Each year, 8600 New Zealand children are sexually abused for the first time, says Dr Julich. By the time children reach 16, 25 per cent of girls and 9 per cent of boys will have experienced sexual abuse. The results of sexual abuse for many victims is low self-worth, using alcohol and drugs abuse and ongoing psychological problems. Prevention of sexual abuse should be a priority in New Zealand, because of the ongoing cost, Dr Julich says. "We have to examine our understandings of femininity and masculinity and how we teach that to our children," she says. "We need to stop and say `should we bring our little girls up to be submissive, and should we bring our little boys up to be aggressive'. "Somewhere, we're making it OK for men to abuse."	Western Leader August 22, 2002 Research by Shirley Julich by Gordon Waugh, Whenuapai The "research" by Dr Shirley Julich on sexual abuse, reported in your article "Abuse carries steep price" (Aug 15), ranks her high amongst those skilled in breathtaking sophistry. Her study lacks academic rigour and is outrageously misleading. No-one disputes that sexual abuse occurs and is abhorrent. No-one knows the actual prevalence of sexual abuse, but many make guesses. Findings about sexual abuse are not a matter of impression, theory, opinion or speculation. They must be evidence-based on facts properly determined from empirical scientific methodology. Her "research" is similar to a raft of other retrospective studies which drew fatally flawed conclusions from unverified data. The quite silly idea that one in every four females and 9 per cent of males are sexually abused by age 16 has long since been discredited. During her six years of work, Dr Julich apparently did not raise her head to do a reality check. She gathered data from a miniscule sample of 21 "survivors" and reports from a self-help "survivor" group. She must prove she externally corroborated the abuse allegations and that her thesis properly accounted for the well-known range of biases inherent in such retrospective studies. It is illogical to extrapolate such "findings" to the general population. In the light of accurate Ministry of Justice statistics on sexual abuse convictions, her conclusion that only 7.5% of abuse is reported is utter nonsense, as is her finding that an "offender" averages 50 victims before being caught.   Her attribution of the Stockholm Syndrome is laughable. If 8,600 children are sexually abused for the FIRST time EVERY year, the entire population will have been sexually abused over a very short period of time. And she claims this costs $2.4 Billion annually! Her reported conclusions rely on inadequate data, ill-informed speculation, discredited ideology and misguided beliefs. No doubt Dr Julich will now be treated as an "expert" and will influence social policy. And Massey University will continue to award doctorates for this sort of appalling drivel. God Defend New Zealand.