USMC braces for post-combat child abuse spike

USMC braces for post-combat child abuse spike
By Gina Harkins
Staff writer
Marine Corps Times
Posted : Wednesday May 23, 2012

With the end of full-scale combat in Afghanistan in sight, the Marine Corps wants to head off an anticipated spike in the number of child-abuse and child-neglect incidents associated with post-deployment stress and family reunification.

Family advocacy personnel throughout the service are being trained to better help Marines — along with their spouses and children — improve communication and cope with traumatic events. The effort focuses on therapy techniques that emphasize participation from parents and children.

This program, called trauma focused cognitive behavioral therapy, was developed in the 1960s and has proven effective in civilian circles. But stressors that are found in military and civilian communities — such as divorce, bullying and substance abuse — can be compounded in the former by challenges brought on by frequent moves, long parental absences and deployments, said Maj. Shawn Haney, a spokeswoman for Manpower and Reserve Affairs, home to the Corps’ Family Advocacy Program.

From 2007 to 2010, as the Corps grew by thousands of Marines to meet demands in Iraq and then Afghanistan, the number of reported child-maltreatment cases — including physical and sexual abuse, and neglect — nearly doubled, according to an information paper provided to Marine Corps Times in April by the Family Advocacy Program. In 2007, there were 397 reported cases. In 2010, there were 767.
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