Research topic is: child sexual abuse
Your paper should include the following four sections(you may use sub-headers, “Overview, Discussion, Current Responses, Conclusion” – your own ideas, suggestions and a summary):
1. An overview of the selected topic including:
o Definition and scope/prevalence (where is it occurring/how long has it been occurring/how many people involved) and demographics (who are the victims and preparators)?
o Why is this topic relevant to our class? What are the general issues surrounding this type of VMIR?
2. A discussion of the current body of academic research on the selected topic (literature review)*
à minimum of three outside sources, two of which must be journal articles and four citations from the readings from class (more is okay)**:
• What does the literature say about the topic, including history, nature of the VMIR, contributing factors etc.?
• What are the various risk factors (as discussed throughout our class and in your new research)?
• What are the consequences of this type of VMIR (e.g. individual, family, community, financial, legal, etc.)
*You must cite the authors from class and your own research here.
KEY:
àRemember to analyze the economic, geographic, ethnic, political and environmental issues that may be contributing to the occurrence of this type of VMIR — use the literature, not your opinion here.
3. A discussion of the current responses to address the problem.
• What governmental and legal policies/laws are in place to address this type of VMIR?
• What is the role of community or non-governmental organizations? Are there informal support programs that help? Identify and discuss them.
• Is this type of VMIR better suited to prevention or intervention programming?
• Which type of program appears to be the most effective for addressing this VMIR?
You are basically answering the question “what is being done about the ‘problem’ of this particular type of VMIR”?
4. A conclusion section which discusses your ideas and thoughts on how governments, organizations and individuals can better address this problem (as identified and discussed earlier), drawing on the knowledge and tools you have developed over the semester.
• Your essay must incorporate at least four citationsfrom the course (one of which can be from a lecture, article or video reference)and three outside references (of these three, two must be academic journals and the one can be from a blog, website, or any form of media).
• Your essay should also include class discussion, media/films presented and current events (as they apply).
• The essay is designed to solicit critical thinkingabout the issues and is not meant to be a reading summary nor a book review. You should not be replicating the information in the text, but using what you have learned to understand either a similar topic more deeply or a different topic altogether.
Research topic: child sexual abuse
