Simon David Finkelhor is an American sociologist known for his research into child sexual abuse and related topics.
Education
Finkelhor graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy in 1964, then attended Harvard College, where he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Relations in 1968. In 1971 from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and he received his Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology from University of New Hampshire in 1978.
Career
He is the director of Crimes against Children Research Center, Company-Director of the Family Research Laboratory and Professor of Sociology at the University of New Hampshire. While at Harvard, he took courses at the Institut d"Études Politiques, University of Paris in 1967. He earned his M. Education Finkelhor began studying the child abuse problems of child victimization, child maltreatment and family violence in 1977.
He is known for his conceptual and empirical work on the problem of child sexual abuse, reflected in publications such as Sourcebook on Child Sexual Abuse (Sage, 1986) and Nursery Crimes (Sage, 1988).
His 2008 book Child Victimization sought to unify and integrate knowledge about diverse forms of child victimization in a field he has termed "developmental victimology."
Finkelhor has received grants from sources including the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect, and the United States Department of Justice. Finkelhor researches and has authored many studies, articles, and books on child sexual abuse.
He has stated that he intends to continue his research until he proves "an unambiguous and persuasive case that the problem is widespread." According to Kenneth Plummer, he is "probably the most prominent sociologist at work in the field "
In 1988 Finkelhor completed an investigation of child sexual abuse in daycares in the United States in response to the satanic ritual abuse panic. Some peers criticized the report for lack of verifiable evidence and incorrect conclusions.