The SAID Victim
                                    Summary
Not all accusations of sexual child abuse in custody or visitation disputes
are false and it is has not been the intent of this article to imply they 
re.
Sexual abuse of children by either parent is a valid reason to end a 
arriage,
as is true domestic violence.
Almost a decade ago the mental health community warned itself on the accusa-
tions issue then proceeded to respond in a manner that created adult and 
hild
victims alike.  This industry however is not fully responsible, but because 
f
the roles these professionals fulfill in our society they have been a major
contributor in allowing the issue to continue and get out of hand in the man-
ner that it has.
Further responsibility should be attributed to the American Bar Associations'
Young Lawyers Division.  The Abuse Allegation Project, started in 1986 by Dr.
Nancy Thoennes and Dr. Jessica Pearson, eventually led to the ABA publication
"SEXUAL ABUSE ALLEGATIONS IN CUSTODY AND VISITATION CASES: A Resource Book 
or
Judges and Court Personnel".  It is unfortunate this publication was intended
for the audience cited. Compared to past material from the National Legal
Resource Center for Child Advocacy and Protection a major disservice has been
provided for children who become involved in the accusations issue.
The book was poorly edited and certain mental health professionals were
selected to contribute. More than half of the book consisted of excerpts from
previously published material, which the community knew about, and which did
not really deal with allegations in custody and visitation disputes. While
these excerpts were important, sexual abuse of children, and the accusations
of sexual abuse, are two related issues which feature experts from the entire
mental health community, and this was known by the editors of this publica-
tion.  The valid concerns expressed by all within the community would have
made the publication a true resource book.  The Abuse Allegation Project, the
American Bar Association resource book, and the individuals associated with
both deserve a closer look.
According to the code of ethics of many professional mental health organiza-
tions the entire community has an ethical obligation to serve society.  These
professionals must compromise on the issues that separate them and mutually
work together for a coherent community.  The concerns of everyone must be 
or-
related and all dynamics present in alleged sexual child abuse must be 
valua-
ted to make a proper determination of whether a child was in fact sexually
abused.
Various segments of the mental health community can no longer remain adament
in their opinions on the accusations issue and changes must occur at the top
of this community so they may filter down to that initial evaluator. The ABA
publication is an excellent example of the lack of coherency that exists in
this profession, with assistance from one segment of the legal profession.
Changes will come as they always do on social issues but often the trend in
this country is that some well known person initiates the changes because 
hey
were personally affected. Alcohol and drug abuse are good examples.  When
someone known to us all becomes a SAID Victim then changes will occur.
We need not wait however because there are well qualified authorities in this
nation to affect the necessary change.  As we start a new decade the mental
health profession is challenged to initiate this process and good starting
areas for this divided community might be: 1) Joint child abuse conferences,
2) Combined research studies and papers on the issues, and 3) An in-depth
research study on SAID Victims.  A questionnaire is available from the author
that may be used as a basis of research.
The following are just a few who can combine their expertise: Dr. Elissa P.
Benedek, Lucy Berliner, Dr. Gordon J. Blush, Dr. Ann W. Burgess, Dr. Lee
Coleman, Dr. Jon R. Conte, Dr. David Finkelhor, Dr. Richard A. Gardner, Dr.
Arthur Green, Dr. A. Nicholas Groth, Dr. Melvin Guyer, Dr. Judith L. Herman,
Dr. Richard D. Krugman, Dr. Sharon Satterfield, Dr. Diane H. Schetky, Dr.
Suzanne M. Sgroi, LeRoy G. Schultz, Dr. Roland C. Summit, Dr. Sue White, and
Dr. Ralph C. Underwager.
Thanks to the work of Dr. Groth and others, there is a substantial amount of
research data on incarcerated pedophiles, child molesters, and sexual devia-
tes.  At one time these individuals most likely said, 'I did not do what you
have accused me of doing'. The pedophiles and child molesters who are not im-
prisoned live in our communities and represent a bonafide risk to our 
hildren
in social programs, and at public and school playgrounds.
This article has pointed out that true SAID Victims go far beyond simply say-
ing, 'I did not do what you have accused me of doing'. They respond by educa-
ting themselves, identifying problems, and suggesting changes. A research 
tu-
dy on SAID Victims is highly recommended, their input on the accusations 
ssue
is mandatory, and they can provide invaluable information to the mental 
ealth
community on a social issue that changed their lives.
>>> End - The SAID Victim, Part 6 of 6: Reid Kimbrough
*****************************************************************************
This file (SAID.TXT) & a list of Titles related to The SAID Syndrome 
SAIDSYN.
LST) plus all current key word subjects related to Child Abuse (CASUBJS.TXT)
is in the file CAINFO.ZIP available on 411 The Info BBS at (407) 323-0025, 
F:
Files Section, A: List File areas, 1: C Drive Files, 13: Information).---
---------------