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Delta State University *

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422

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Law

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Jan 9, 2024

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docx

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For the purposes of this discussion, I decided to review the Policy Advocacy Challenge 1.3, “Enhancing the Rights of Children Who Are Sexually Assaulted at School (Jansson, 2018). I decided to review this specific challenge because it is a policy that directly impacts children who have been victim to an extreme and life-altering trauma. Policy Advocacy Challenge 1.3 reviews a scenario of a 12-year-old girl who was victim to sexual assault (rape) while under the protection of her school. As a result of the girl disclosing her assault, she faced isolation and harassment from other students at her school (Jansson, 2018). Furthermore, in her pursuit of justice, she encountered an inequality in rights compared to her assaulter and experienced additional trauma when asked to recount her assault without any accompanying support from her parents (Jansson, 2018). Fortunately, due to the evident continued traumatization experienced by the victim, policy advocators and legislators decided to implement a law that ensures equal treatment for both the victim and the accused (Jansson,2018). By taking this approach, the search for justice becomes equal, preventing any inequality in rights that could lead to the manipulation of the legal process by one party. Who is defining the problem? Gail Abarbanel, Executive Director of the Rape Treatment Center at Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center, identified the problem with Jennifer. Gail identified this problem as Jennifer experiencing a sexual assault while at school and then proceeding to have to go through court proceedings without proper support (Jansson, 2018). Gail collaborated with Shelia Kuehl in defining and addressing this problem by recognizing the inequalities within the system and developing a law to address the inequalities to ensure an equal, legal proceeding for both parties (Jansson,2018). What values are reflected in this definition of the problem? As a social worker, it is essential to ensure that an individual's well- being is always the center focus (NASW,2021). As a social worker works towards maneuvering around complex situations, social work ethics can assist when identifying values within a problem. When reviewing the Policy Advocacy Challenge 1.3, the values that are reflected can be seen as social justice and human relationships (NASW, 2021). In Jennifer’s situation, she was being done an injustice by the inability to have the same rights as her accuser, as well as experiencing such harassment from peers while seeking some type of justice for her assault (Jansson, 2018). Furthermore, she was unable to have a support system with her during her legal proceeding, which then further traumatized her and enabled her from having a fair chance during court (Jansson, 2018). These values were addressed when Gail and Sheila implemented a law that stated equality for both parties, with the inclusion of a support system in the court during proceedings (Jansson, 2018).
What is being omitted in this definition? Upon further examination of the problem's definition, it became apparent that several crucial elements were omitted from this specific description. First and foremost, the events of the assault were very vague and without question. Although Jennifer described the assault, the initial report failed to mention the events in which these children were left alone, how the assault was able to take place, who was responsible for the children, and what are the safety precautions for the children while at school (Jansson, 2018). Another omitting factor from the definition is identified as the uncertainty surrounding the failure to provide equality pertaining to legal proceeding during the court cases (Jansson, 2018). Lastly, there is failure to mention how this assault was addressed, as well as the repercussions from Jennifer’s disclosure of her assault were handled (Jansson, 2018). These factors are essential in the definition of the problem because they can assist in legal proceedings, as well as the social workers understanding of this event and the events that followed.
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