Building a research agenda for mental health assessments in resolving legal dilemmas on adolescent sexual consent

Sheila Ramaswamy; Shekhar Seshadri; Joske Bunders-Aelen

doi:10.1016/j.ajp.2021.102907

Building a research agenda for mental health assessments in resolving legal dilemmas on adolescent sexual consent

Sheila Ramaswamy^*, Shekhar Seshadri, Joske Bunders-Aelen

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

The dilemma of adolescent consent confounds dispensation of justice in child sexual abuse and juvenile justice contexts, with legal personnel struggling to discern between consent and coercion in cases of adolescents who are sexually abused and those who are accused of alleged sexual offences. Given that capacities for consent also determine personal safety and mental health, there is an imperative to build a child mental health research agenda for developing methodologies that incorporate psychological knowledge on abuse dynamics, adolescent mental health and development, vulnerability and risk, to assess adolescent sexual consent and sexual decision-making processes.

Original language	English
Article number	102907
Pages (from-to)	1-4
Number of pages	4
Journal	ASIAN JOURNAL OF PSYCHIATRY
Volume	66
Early online date	26 Oct 2021
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajp.2021.102907
Publication status	Published - Dec 2021

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
We acknowledge the support of Ministry of Women and Child Development , Government of India, for supporting the work we do with child protection, mental health and judicial systems.

Funding Information:
We acknowledge the support of Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India, for supporting the work we do with child protection, mental health and judicial systems. None to declare.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Elsevier B.V.

Keywords

Adolescent consent
Child sexual abuse
Law
Mental health assessment

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1016/j.ajp.2021.102907

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abstract = "The dilemma of adolescent consent confounds dispensation of justice in child sexual abuse and juvenile justice contexts, with legal personnel struggling to discern between consent and coercion in cases of adolescents who are sexually abused and those who are accused of alleged sexual offences. Given that capacities for consent also determine personal safety and mental health, there is an imperative to build a child mental health research agenda for developing methodologies that incorporate psychological knowledge on abuse dynamics, adolescent mental health and development, vulnerability and risk, to assess adolescent sexual consent and sexual decision-making processes.",

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AB - The dilemma of adolescent consent confounds dispensation of justice in child sexual abuse and juvenile justice contexts, with legal personnel struggling to discern between consent and coercion in cases of adolescents who are sexually abused and those who are accused of alleged sexual offences. Given that capacities for consent also determine personal safety and mental health, there is an imperative to build a child mental health research agenda for developing methodologies that incorporate psychological knowledge on abuse dynamics, adolescent mental health and development, vulnerability and risk, to assess adolescent sexual consent and sexual decision-making processes.

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Building a research agenda for mental health assessments in resolving legal dilemmas on adolescent sexual consent

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

UN SDGs

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