for detecting and preventing experiences of abuse and/or sexual abuse in children, teenagers and adults.
Deciphering children's drawings, unjustifiably, is a controversial field. There are quite a few skeptics regarding the work of a painting decipherer and his abilities to determine with the help of the painting the situation of the painter. This situation is probably due to the public's lack of knowledge of the very fact that deciphering children's drawings is a field that has been studied all over the world for hundreds of years.
The controversy
What does the legal system around the world say about this?
In recent decades, children's drawings are becoming a tool in criminal investigations of child abuse, including sexual abuse. These drawings provide valuable insights into the children's experiences and feelings, sometimes revealing signs of abuse that cannot be revealed in other ways.
But does the legal system around the world treat the interpretation of a decipherer of paintings as legal evidence? As testimony that can convict those accused of abuse and sexual violence against children and youth?
In the world to this day there is no known legal precedent in which the decoding of children's drawings was the exclusive evidence that led to the conviction of the accused.
The main argument for this is that deciphering paintings is in fact an interpretation influenced by emotional factors of the decipherer, and there is therefore an ability to challenge his interpretation. The opponents claim that if we present several interpretations we will admit to different interpretations.
Those who support the use of deciphering children's drawings claim that there is a lot of information in the drawing, sometimes even an accurate description of violent situations just like a photograph of an event. The proponents claim that with the help of the drawing, a child who has difficulty expressing himself in speech, also due to the event, narrates what happened with the help of the drawing.
Over the years, various events around the world have been investigated and brought to trial based on drawings drawn by children, teenagers and adults.
In different parts of the world, quite a few cases where hundreds and thousands of children were abused were discovered. So over the years there is more and more awareness of this and the use of children's drawings occupies an ever-increasing place.
studies and events
One study found that children who had been sexually abused were more likely to draw genitals on human figures than children who were not. The researchers compared drawings from children referred to child protective services as suspected victims of sexual abuse with drawings from a matched group of unaffected children. It can be learned that there are certain elements in children's drawings that may indicate experiences of sexual abuse.
Another study investigated how child abuse is expressed by children and teenagers in their drawings and stories. The results indicated that the participants did not see a distinction between abuse and violence and treated them in a combined manner.
Almost half of the participants focused on emotional abuse. The most common type of domestic abuse was between parents and children, and the most common type of abuse outside the family was between peers. Most of the drawings were figurative and realistic and half of the drawings included words that imply attempts by the participants to describe through the drawing events they experienced.
It is important to note and emphasize that, although children's drawings can provide valuable insights, they must be done by experienced and responsible professionals. Misinterpretation can lead to wrong conclusions, so any analysis of children's drawings should be carried out by qualified drawing decipherers. In addition, drawings are only one part of the puzzle and should also be supported by additional evidence and professional assessments.
Examples of cases where children's drawings revealed sexual abuse:
In 2018, in California, a teacher at a school, during an activity in a regular class, the teacher asked the students to draw a picture of a family. One of the students, Batsheva drew a picture of her father with a very big face and his hands on her mother's shoulders. The teacher, who has a background in deciphering paintings, noticed that the painting was special, she initiated a conversation with the girl about the painting. After a conversation based on open-ended questions, the girl revealed that her father had touched her inappropriately. The teacher immediately referred the information to the school's social worker, eventually an investigation was opened, the father was arrested and charged with sexual abuse in his home.
In 2014, a five-year-old boy from England drew a picture of his bedroom. In the painting you could see that his bed was surrounded by bars, like in a detention cell. The drawing aroused the suspicion of the teacher. He referred the drawing to the school counselor who began dubbing the boy, the boy said that his stepfather used to come to his room at night and touch him inappropriately. His stepfather was immediately removed from the house until the clear end of the issue, after the investigation was completed the stepfather was arrested and later convicted of child sexual abuse.
In 2017, a nine-year-old girl from Australia drew a picture of herself alone in a swimming pool. A place that should normally be crowded. This motif of loneliness reappeared in a number of paintings that were later revealed by the parents. The girl's father is a policeman contacted his child investigator friend who spoke with the girl, in a series of conversations a shocking description of the girl was revealed, she revealed that her sports coach would touch her inappropriately during swimming lessons. The coach was arrested and accused of sexually abusing children.
In 2015, a ten-year-old boy from Canada drew a man with a big head and a small body, the character's hands were also very large. The boy's mother, who herself had been sexually abused as a child, was alarmed by the painting, which brought her back many years to her childhood. Together with the headmistress of the school, a process was started by the welfare department of their city of residence, in the end, it was revealed that his neighbor used to show him detailed pictures on his phone. The neighbor was arrested and accused of distributing child pornography, the continuation of the investigation resulted in the arrest of several pedophiles who were in contact with that neighbor.
These cases demonstrate how children's drawings can be used as a vital tool in detecting and preventing child sexual abuse. It is essential that teachers and other adults who work with children are aware of the warning signs of abuse and take children's exposures seriously.
Cases revealed in the world also show a phenomenon of abuse in different communities which the world of social codes, makes it easy for them to hide abuse of children, youth and adults.
In Spain, in the 2000s, a series of cases in churches was revealed, it was revealed that children have been abused in the church since 1927. "According to experts,
This is only the tip of the iceberg," the newspaper wrote on Friday. Before publishing the report.
The church's abuse crisis exploded onto the international stage in 2002, when the Boston Globe newspaper revealed that priests had been sexually abusing children for decades and that church leaders had covered it up.
Patterns of widespread child abuse were later reported across the US and Europe, in Chile and Australia, exploiting the moral authority of the 1.3 billion member church and taking a toll on its members.
An independent commission in France concluded in 2021 that 216,000 children - mostly boys had been sexually abused by clergy since 1950.
In Germany, a study found 3,677 cases of abuse between 1946 and 2014.
In Ireland more than 14,500 people have received compensation through a government scheme for those abused in youth facilities run by the Catholic Church.
A study that illuminates the subject: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1002864/full
Please note that the information presented in the article is based on various events and studies and may not be suitable for all cases. Each case is unique and should be examined individually by a qualified professional painting decipherer. If you suspect child abuse, it is important to report it to the appropriate authorities.
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