Rosaleen McElvaney is a clinical psychologist who has worked in the public health services in Ireland for many years, primarily in services for children or adults who have experienced sexual abuse. She has served on the boards of Crime Victims Helpline, the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church in Ireland and One in Four. She is currently a lecturer in psychotherapy at Dublin City University and lives in Dublin, Ireland.
For too long we have failed to recognise the early warning signs that a child may be sexually abused, placing the onus on the child to 'disclose' their experience of sexual abuse, rather than on the practitioner to recognise the signs that the abuse is occurring. This book helps us to challenge these failures, to better understand the nature of child sexual abuse and to help children explain what has happened to them. It is essential reading for all those working to protect children from sexual abuse. -- Jenny Pearce, Professor of Young People and Public Policy, University of Bedfordshire