False allegation of child sexual abuse

A false allegation of child sexual abuse is an accusation against one or more individuals claiming that they committed child sexual abuse when no abuse has been committed by the accused. Such accusations can be brought by the alleged victim, or by another person on the alleged victim’s behalf. Studies on the rate of recorded child abuse allegations in the 1990s suggested that the overall rate of false accusations at that time was approximately 10%.[1][2][3][4]

Of the allegations determined to be false, only a small portion originated with the child, the studies showed; most false allegations originated with an adult bringing the accusations on behalf of a child, and of those, a large majority occurred in the context of divorce and child-custody battles.[1][5]

  1. ^ a b Ney, T (1995). True and False Allegations of Child Sexual Abuse: Assessment and Case Management. Psychology Press. pp. 23–33. ISBN 0-87630-758-6.
  2. ^ Hobbs, CJ; Hanks HGI; Wynne JM (1999). Child Abuse and Neglect: A Clinician's Handbook. Elsevier Health Sciences. p. 197. ISBN 0-443-05896-2.
  3. ^ Schetky, DH; Green AH (1988). Child Sexual Abuse: A Handbook for Health Care and Legal Professionals. Psychology Press. p. 105. ISBN 0-87630-495-1.
  4. ^ Bolen, RM (2001). Child Sexual Abuse: Its Scope and Our Failure. Springer. p. 109. ISBN 0-306-46576-0.
  5. ^ Robin, M (1991). Assessing Child Maltreatment Reports: The Problem of False Allegations. Haworth Press. pp. 21–24. ISBN 0-86656-931-6.