ABSTRACT
The issue of the prevalence of child sexual abuse has moved out of the academic area into the public arena. An increase in child sexual abuse reports of more than 2000% from 1976 to 1986 (American Humane Association, 1988) has resulted in a deluge of media reports on child sexual abuse. It has been aptly titled "the battle and the backlash" (Hechler, 1988) as arguments resound as to whether the increase in reports is due to (1) the disclosure of a chronic and widespread, but previously hidden, societal problem; (2) a massive increase in prevalence of a previously rare phenomenon, or (3) an epidemic of fictitious reports.
