Purpose of the Book

The purpose of this book is to attempt to explore child abuse from a contemporary perspective in terms of its multiple elements, victims, and criminal justice responses. This text will: (1) begin to address the needs of those studying child abuse from a cultural perspective; (2) provide a general profile of today’s perpetrators of child abuse as well as conditions that may facilitate the abuse; (3) provide information on current modes of child abuse; (4) provide discussions on long-term consequences for adult victims of child abuse; and, (5) provide details in terms of criminal justice responses to child abuse in the United States and internationally.