Fewer questions more healing

Imagine a sexually abused child who has turned to the police and protective service agencies.

Instead of getting needed, immediate mental and medical help, the child gets one interview after another. First it's a teacher, then it's a police detective, then it's a social worker and finally, if the child is fortunate, it wraps up with the district attorney.

Each time the child retells the story of abuse, he or she is forced to relive every moment of the painful experience. The child may begin to have self-doubt, wondering why these people keep asking the same questions if they really believe him or her. Finally, the child decides the pain and the stress is too much and the only way to make it stop is to change the story and deny the abuse.