Victimology: What Every Investigator Needs to Know About the Sexually Victimized Child

Law Enforcement investigation sensitivity towards the needs of both victims and caregivers is a topic not taught in traditional Basic Investigation training.

What does being victim-sensitive and trauma-informed mean, and what is the significance for us in our Law Enforcement investigations? The answer is simple: there is direct bearing on our investigative mission to secure objective, factual, detailed information, and the subsequent investigative corroboration. An investigator’s knowledge and sensitivity toward the child victim and non-offending parent has a direct bearing on an investigator’s ability to better assess and subsequently investigate the information gained.

Specific training issues to be presented include the stages of victimization, secondary victimization, the Child Abuse Accommodation Syndrome, sexual abuse traumagenics, and PTSD behaviors. Common defense mechanisms and dissociative disorders exhibited by sexually abused, exploited and trafficked children will be discussed from a Law Enforcement perspective. Best Practice tips on recognition, documentation and practical ways to respond to these issues will also be reviewed.