ABSTRACT
In the preceding chapter I argued that the legal treatment of rape epitomizes the core of the problem of law for feminism. The law in this field operates to signify the dominance of a specific notion of sexuality, it reaffirms a particular form of heterosexuality, and disqualifies women’s experiences of abuse. But if rape law silences and denies women’s experiences, what does the criminal law signify in relation to child sexual abuse? Is it the case that the silencing is more extensive, more oppressive? Does child care law ‘punish’ the child more effectively than the criminal law ‘punishes’ women because it entails the power to place children in institutions or with foster parents away from their homes and friends? Does legal intervention, whether criminal or civil, have the effect of disqualifying children’s experience, of further alienating and abusing them?
