Sexual Violence Against Children in Britain Since 1965

This book investigates the changes and continuities in the ways in which sexual violence has been interpreted and represented in Britain since 1965. It explores the representational trail of the Moors murders and subsequent trial of 1966, the emergence of age of consent abolitionism in the 1970s, Cleveland’s child sexual abuse crisis of 1987-8, and 2010 and 20s contemplations on the Jimmy Savile scandal. Harnessing research into popular media forms and a huge range of personal, political and professional records, Nick Basannavar carefully parses and illustrates the ways in which journalists, medical workers, politicians, lobbyists and other groups assembled and animated their narratives, revealing complex rhetorical and emotional processes. This book challenges problematic conceptual dichotomies such as silence/noise or ignorance/knowledge. It shows instead that although categories such as ‘child sexual abuse’ and ‘paedophilia’ may be relatively recent linguistic value-constructs, sexual violence against children has existed and been represented across historical moments, in changeable and challenging ways.

  
  

“Through a series of compelling case studies and culminating in an incisive analysis of the Jimmy Savile scandal, Nick Basannavar charts shifting understandings of child sexual abuse in Britain since the 1960s. He vividly demonstrates how responses were entangled with wider social and culture crises, reshaping visions of the paedophile and perpetrator for the present.” (Matt Cook, Birkbeck, University of London, UK)

“Nick Basannavar provides much needed historicization of the changing representations of adult sex with children from the Moors murders to Jimmy Savile. He captures the discursive shift from tropes of “unknowability” to the use of open and direct language, and the rise of paedophile and paedophilia as hegemonic terms. Ultimately, this book overturns the myth of child abuse as a “silenced” topic to reveal a long history of linguistic echoes, revivals and reversals.” (Dr. Rachel Hope Cleves, University of Victoria, Canada)

“A unique book that captures the changing essence of this highly emotive and polarising subject in an academically rigorous and balanced way. A must read for academics and practitioners concerned with preventing child sexual abuse through better understanding of its past and present threats, especially given the ever-increasing danger that the Internet and social media represent to the young.” (Carine Minne, Portman Clinic (Tavistock & Portman NHS Trust) and Broadmoor Hospital (West London NHS Trust), UK)

“Adeptly interrogating the language and representation of sexual violence against children across half a century, from the Moors Murders to the Jimmy Savile revelations, Nick Basannavar demonstrates how concepts like ‘child sexual abuse’ and ‘paedophile’ become meaningful in specific political, activist and media landscapes. Basannavar challenges what we take for granted about the past, and also the present.” (Dr. Justin Bengry, Goldsmiths, University of London, UK)

“This book is a deeply researched, theoretically rich, and path setting exploration of how sexual crimes against children in Britain became legible and significant. With sensitivity and nuance, Basannavar carefully excavates the changing meanings of childhood and sexual violence, showcasing the shifting stories told about children and those who have abused them.” (Gill Frank, University of Virginia, USA)

 

Nick Basannavar is a historian specialising in the cultural, social and sexual history of postwar Britain. He is an Honorary Fellow at Birkbeck, University of London, UK, where he also completed his doctoral research and has taught modern British history.