Blame and Culpability in Children's Narratives of Child Sexual Abuse

Abstract

Though child sexual abuse (CSA) is a global problem, victims are treated differently across the world. In the UK, there is a dominant assumption that victims are passive, which risks further marginalising those who do not identify themselves in line with prominent understanding of ‘vulnerability’. Drawing upon ethnographic fieldwork and in‐depth interviews, this paper shares the perspectives of girls who were placed in secure accommodation for their own protection, owing to professional concerns of CSA. Despite their experiences being reported almost identically in their files, this sensitive research shows that girls understood and narrated their journeys in strikingly different ways. Each shared complex relationships with their abuser and admitted to absconding with them on multiple occasions. Despite disparate narratives, the girls unanimously rejected being labelled as ‘vulnerable’ and instead felt that they were responsible for the abuse that they had endured. I argue that limited understanding of CSA problematises girls who claim sexual agency, meaning that they are consequently forced to shoulder responsibility for their own exploitation. By sharing the voices of those who are usually unheard, this paper concludes by calling for a radical reframing of the way that victims are treated, both by professionals working with them and by policies written about them. Key Practitioner Messages Girls believed that professionals held them accountable for being sexually abused. The structural disadvantages of childhood meant that children sometimes relied on their abusers for food and shelter. Victims sometimes felt that their abuser was their only friend. Professionals sometimes mistook resilience for culpability.

‘It’s like we’re locked in a box’: Girls’ and mothers’ experiences of the police and legal system following child sexual abuse

“…More often, it is the perspectives of practitioners working with children that are gathered (Gilligan, 2016) or adults recounting abuse that they experienced in childhood (Allnock et al, 2015; see Nelson‐Gardell, 2001; Woodiwiss, 2014). Published qualitative research directly involving children on this topic is also often typified by small sample sizes (Ellis, 2019; Hill, 2009; Jessiman et al, 2017) which may be a consequence of ‘gate keeping issues’ (Carroll‐Lind et al, 2006, p. 266) underpinned by concern that involving children in research could compromise ongoing criminal justice processes or that talking to them about sexual abuse is too sensitive. The absence of children's active participation in research means that children's voices are ‘vulnerable to being represented by others’ (Muddaly & Goddard, 2006, p. 158).…”

Addressing Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation: Improvements in Understanding and Practice

“…All three girls who featured in Ellis's () study were sexually abused as young children, and McKibbin and Humphreys () reflect how a child who has been abused since infancy may perceive abuse as normal. In Sophie Hallett and colleagues' () study, experiences of early abuse in their families – sometimes sexual, and often emotional, physical and/or domestic abuse – were frequently recorded in the backgrounds of children and young people served by the now‐linked services responding to both CSE and harmful sexual behaviour (HSB).…”

“…The articles by Katie Ellis () and Gemma McKibbin and Cathy Humphreys () focus on the situation of sexually exploited children and young people in residential care – in the case of Ellis, in a secure setting. This important area has been the focus of several studies in recent years, many of which are highlighted in the CSA Centre's recent ‘Key messages from research’ paper on looked‐after children and child sexual abuse (Evans, ).…”

“…Both Ellis () and McKibbin and Humphreys () grapple with the contradictions between children's (diverse) perspectives on their situations, and the way in which staff and systems understand their duty to protect. Although Ellis's (2019) respondents had different understandings of their experiences, they were unanimous in feeling blamed for their abuse through being locked up when their abusers were free.…”

“…Although Ellis's (2019) respondents had different understandings of their experiences, they were unanimous in feeling blamed for their abuse through being locked up when their abusers were free. They ‘fiercely’ rejected being described as ‘vulnerable’ and emphasised their own agency (Ellis, , p. 413). Ellis's (2019) call for ways of working that locate services alongside young people rather than against them echoes much work in this area, as she discusses.…”