Pathways to Understanding – How Adult Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse Came to Understand that they had been Sexually Abused

Stige, Signe Hjelen; Halvorsen, Jorunn E.; Solberg, Ellen Tvedt

doi:10.1080/10538712.2019.1643432

Cited by 14 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…The impact of the abuse could be both direct and delayed, depending on the participant's understanding of the abusive situation and the time taken to realize its severity. Understanding that one's experiences can be labeled as sexual abuse can be a long and complex process (Hjelen Stige et al, 2020), and the online element may add extra complexity as it allow offenders to hide their identity, leading the victims to believe that they were communicating with a peer. Thus, for some participants, the realization of abuse was not an inner insight, but occurred when police contacted them and revealed the true identity of the offender, which could be a shocking experience.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“All of Me Is Completely Different”: Experiences and Consequences Among Victims of Technology-Assisted Child Sexual Abuse

et al. 2020

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The aim of the present study was to gain a first-person perspective on the experiences of technology-assisted child sexual abuse (TA-CSA), and a deeper understanding of the way it may affect its victims. Seven young women (aged 17–24) with experience of TA-CSA before the age of 18 participated in individual in-depth interviews. The interviews were teller-focused with the aim of capturing the interviewee’s own story about how they made sense of their experiences over time, and what impact the victimization had on them in the short and long terms. Thematic analysis of the interviews revealed a broad range of abusive experiences that had profoundly impacted the individuals’ lives, health and self-concepts. Three dominant themes emerged from the analysis – From thrilling to abusive, Negative effect on health and wellbeing, and A new self after the abuse. From thrilling to abusive captures the wide range of experiences described, starting from the child’s own sexual curiosity to descriptions of having been manipulated or threatened into engaging in sexual activity, as well as the sometimes long and complex process of understanding the severity of one’s experiences. Negative effect on health and wellbeing describes the victimization’s comprehensive impact on the life and health of the participants, how they blamed themselves for what had happened, and the struggle of having to live with the constant fear of pictures from the abuse resurfacing. A new self after the abuse depicts how the victimization impacted the way participants viewed and thought about themselves in relation to others, and distorted their views of their bodies. The findings are discussed in relation to previous research on both offline CSA and TA-CSA, as well as theoretical and practical implications.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“All of Me Is Completely Different”: Experiences and Consequences Among Victims of Technology-Assisted Child Sexual Abuse

et al. 2020

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“…That adults should carry much of the responsibility for uncovering CSA seems so obvious it should hardly be a finding in an empirical article. Yet, many who experience CSA change behavior [e.g., get restless, and have emotional outbursts such as anger or self-harm, ( 16 , 31 , 42 )], indicating to their surroundings that something is not right, without adults noticing ( 1 , 2 , 18 , 19 ), or misinterpreting these signs ( 36 , 42 ). Why, then, do adults around victims so often seem to either not understand or overlook the signs that children and youth experiencing CSA provide?…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It offers information about available treatment options and support services. However, the impact of this resource is uncertain, and it underlines the need to systematize efforts to facilitate early disclosure of CSA ( 42 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Two articles have previously been published from the study. One article explored the process leading survivors to understand that they had been sexually abused, with the main themes The ambiguity of memory: “To remember the catastrophic”; The language of the body: “Let the body speak ”; and Encountering an observant other: “The significance of being seen and recognized” ( 42 ). Another article explored survivors' experienced barriers in their process of disclosing sexual abuse, with the main themes Fear of reprisals; CSA stains – Negative implications for self-representation; and The complicating effect of ambiguity ( 41 ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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What Do Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse Believe Will Facilitate Early Disclosure of Sexual Abuse?

Solberg¹,

Halvorsen

Stige

2021

Front. Psychiatry

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The purpose of this study was to explore what adult survivors of child sexual abuse (CSA) believe will facilitate early disclosure of sexual abuse. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 12 adult survivors of CSA aged 18–57 years, and analyzed the transcripts using reflexive thematic analysis. Our analysis resulted in three main themes: Adults making it possible to tell; Adults daring to consider the unthinkable; and Conveying knowledge of CSA that facilitates understanding. The findings highlighted the importance of adults facilitating disclosure and making it possible for survivors to tell about their experiences, but also the responsibility adults have to dare to consider the possibility of CSA when children struggle. Another important finding was the significance of enhancing the general population's understanding of the complexity of CSA, including why disclosure is difficult, so adults are given the tools needed to understand and know what to do when they suspect CSA. The findings also have important implications for the planning and implementation of interventions to facilitate early disclosure of CSA.

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“…For example, a teacher or principal may be less likely to report a female teacher who is sexually active with a student due to perceptions that it is not damaging to the student or that the student is benefiting from the experience. Likewise, there may be a number of barriers to reporting these relationships that would impact effects of the sexual violence, such as fear of not being believed (Lahtinen et al, 2018;Stige et al, 2020). Training protocols on recognizing and reporting abuse in the school system should address gendered perceptions of these relationships as barriers to appropriate handling of these situations.…”

Section: Practical Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Influence of Gender on Perceptions of Culpability and Victim Status in Statutory Rape Offenses Involving Teachers

2020

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Perceptions of child sexual abuse and statutory rape vary based on the gender of the victim, the perpetrator, and the combination of both. We extend existing research to examine attributions of responsibility and punitive preferences for student victims in student–teacher sexual relationships contingent on the gender dyad of the student and teacher and the interaction between the gender dyad and respondent gender. Participants ( N = 648) were randomly assigned to vignettes wherein the gender of the student and teacher were manipulated (female teacher/male student; female teacher/female student; male teacher/female student; male teacher/male student). Overall, respondents were “pro-victim,” though results indicate significant differences in respondent gender and how the gender dyads were perceived. Students in the male same-sex dyads were attributed less responsibility than other students. Furthermore, men were less likely to perceive the student as a victim, and women were more likely to indicate the student should be punished.

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Pathways to Understanding – How Adult Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse Came to Understand that they had been Sexually Abused

Cited by 14 publications

References 31 publications

“All of Me Is Completely Different”: Experiences and Consequences Among Victims of Technology-Assisted Child Sexual Abuse

“All of Me Is Completely Different”: Experiences and Consequences Among Victims of Technology-Assisted Child Sexual Abuse

What Do Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse Believe Will Facilitate Early Disclosure of Sexual Abuse?

The Influence of Gender on Perceptions of Culpability and Victim Status in Statutory Rape Offenses Involving Teachers

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