Author Description

This manual addresses the issue of sexual abuse in Canadian aboriginal communities, and advocates a community sexual abuse response team approach in building a viable solution to the problem. The manual introduces the main issues and problems relevant to a community sexual response team. Chapter 1 looks at the cultural and historical past of aboriginal communities, including spiritual and philosophical wisdom, European contact and colonization, and the aboriginal rights movement. Chapter 2 looks at understanding sexual abuse in aboriginal communities, including healthy sexuality, sexual abuse, the seriousness and patterns of sexual abuse in aboriginal communities, and abuse in non-Native communities. Chapter 3 discusses the holistic community wellness approach. Chapter 4 focuses on the caregiver: stress, burnout, and well-being. Chapters 5 and 6 focus on community-based intervention issues and strategies, including disclosure, contact, investigation, legalities, the victim's needs, the healing process, and setting up the community response team. Chapter 7 explores community involvement and strategies for generating support. Chapter 8 specifically addresses the legal, administrative, record-keeping, and ethical details in building a community response team. Each chapter includes print and nonprint resources, checklists, guidelines, and illustrative materials. Three appendices provide sample training sessions for the community response team, an outline of a 2-year sexual abuse worker training program, and 54 references. (SAS)