nt of child sexual assault victims knew their abuser. The largest group of offenders is fathers.” [10] contains these strong points as well as supporting the typifying example. Another part of numerical estimates is the frequency, such as every ten minutes a child is sexually abused. Trends such as an increase in abuse in the last year may be noted as well. Also the range of kids at risk may be stated, such as kids of all ages, or kids from any social class. The second major component to claimsmaking is warrants which is a term that refers to statements of values and beliefs of what should and should not be. Warrants can be normative statements expressing a social condition as being right or wrong. Warrants play an important role in that they “justify drawing conclusions from the grounds.” [11] Best speaks of various warrants used in claimsmaking such as value standards, which could refer to children being a priceless resource, and that they are a very valuable cause. The warrant of blame can be used to show that children are innocent and blameless, and are not at fault for any sexual abuse that may occur to them. The warrant of vulnerability may be used in child abuse to explain that due to children’s age and level of maturity they are extremely vulnerable to sexual attack. Warrants of associated evils may be brought forth to suggest that children are not only vulnerable to child sexual abuse, but also drugs and kidnapping for the same reasons. Finally, warrants can also take the form of criticizing deficient or inadequate policies surrounding child sexual abuse intervention. For example, claimsmakers may push for heavier prison sentences to deter, or for more effective treatment for offenders to cure. Very often in claimsmaking, the conclusions may call for more awareness and education toward child sexual abuse such as having children taught in school to report the immoral se...
