Screaming Body and Silent Healthcare Providers: A Case Study with a Childhood Sexual Abuse Survivor

Abstract

Stressful early life experiences cause immune dysregulation across the lifespan. Despite the fact that studies have identified childhood sexual abuse (CSA) survivors as a particularly vulnerable group, only a few attempts have been made to study their lived-experience of the physical health consequences of CSA. The aim of this study was to explore a female CSA survivor’s lived-experience of the physical health consequences of CSA and how she experienced the reactions of healthcare providers. Seven interviews were conducted with this 40-year-old woman, Anne, using a phenomenological research approach. Anne was still a young child (two to three years old) when her father started to rape her. Since her childhood, she has experienced complex and widespread physical health consequences such as repeated vaginal and abdominal infections, widespread and chronic pain, sleeping problems, digestive problems, chronic back problems, fibromyalgia, musculoskeletal problems, repeated urinary tract infections, cervical dysplasia, inflammation of the Fallopian tubes, menorrhagia, endometrial hyperplasia, chlamydia, ovarian cysts, ectopic pregnancies, uterus problems, severe adhesions, and ovarian cancer. Anne disclosed her CSA experience to several healthcare providers but they were silent and failed to provide trauma-informed care. Anne’s situation, albeit unique, might reflect similar problems in other female CSA survivors.

How women experience and cope with daily hassles after sexual abuse – a retrospective qualitative study

“…Women who have experienced sexual abuse, or have been exposed to several types of violence or have been victims of violence from a person they know, appear to be more vulnerable and report poorer self‐perceived health and more negative health effects . In addition to mental illness such as depression, anxiety and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), many women struggle with pain‐related physical ailments, stomach problems, gynaecological disorders, cardiovascular disease, obesity, metabolic syndrome and autoimmune diseases . For some women who have experienced sexual abuse, this can lead to an unhealthy lifestyle with smoking, use of alcohol and/or drugs and/or risky sexual behaviour .…”

Persistent Suffering: The Serious Consequences of Sexual Violence against Women and Girls, Their Search for Inner Healing and the Significance of the #MeToo Movement

“…6. Sigurdardottir, S.; Halldorsdottir, S. Screaming body and silent healthcare providers: A case study with a childhood sexual abuse (CSA) survivor [28].…”

The suffering of a victim of child sexual abuse

“…The most recent study was conducted by Sigurdardottir & Halldorsdottir (2018). This study is a case study of a 40 years old woman who have experienced child sexual abuse since she was 2 years old.…”