See also these newsletter issues for coverage of related topics:
Sexual Abuse (general topics)
Sexually Abusive Children and Youth.
by - DCFS Division
Article pending...
1. Therapy for Sexual Abuse Shows Promise top
Berliner, Lucy (1997). "Trauma-Specific Therapy for Sexually Abused Children." Pages 157-176 in Child Abuse: New Directions in Prevention and Treatment Across The Lifespan. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Finkelhor, David and Lucy Berliner (1995). "Research on the Treatment of Sexually Abused Children: A Review and Recommendations." Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry v34 n11 p1408-23.
Sexual Abuse is Not a Disorder
Sexual abuse is an experience, not a disorder or syndrome that can be diagnosed from specific
symptoms. Abused children may show a wide range of symptoms, from none to serious problems.
Treatment therefore deals with very diverse children and it is unlikely that any one therapy will be
effective with all victims. This diversity makes it difficult to study treatment effectiveness.
"Sleeper" Effects of Abuse
The effects of sexual abuse may not surface immediately. It is unclear whether early treatment can
prevent these effects or if they are triggered during later developmental stages. Also, some short-term
deterioration following abuse may actually be related to recovery. This lack of clarity about sleeper
effects makes short-term studies less reliable.
Treatment Shows Promise But More Research is Needed
Two studies give preliminary evidence that abuse-specific treatment for sexual abuse is effective. Also,
research about other areas of child psychotherapy are more advanced, and confirm that treatment is
useful with a wide range of other problems and disorders. However, randomized, large-scale studies are
needed to establish the effectiveness of treatment for sexual abuse. Long-term follow-up studies are
needed to learn more about sleeper effects and later developmental consequences.
Abuse-Specific Therapy
Researchers have mostly agreed that abuse-specific therapy (also called "abuse-focused" or "trauma-specific") is the preferred approach for most sexual abuse treatment. As opposed to supportive therapy
in which children are not encouraged to discuss their abuse experience, abuse specific therapy:
Treatment Should Have These Characteristics
Studies suggest that effective treatment for sexually abused children should:
Treatment Begins With Assessment
Treatment must begin with a thorough assessment of the child and family to evaluate everyone's
emotional-behavioral functioning and treatment goals. Clients should also be assessed during treatment
to track their progress. Sharing progress with clients may be encouraging and empowering.
Abuse-Specific Measures
To improve both research and practice, the abuse-specific measures listed below should be used more
consistently to assess abused children and their caretakers:
Family Factors Influence Recovery
Studies clearly show that these family factors predict a positive response to treatment:
Treatment Outcomes
As a result of trauma-specific treatment, children should:
2. A Model for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy top
Deblinger, Deborah and Anne Hope Heflin (1996). "Overview of the Treatment Model." Pages 11-25 in Treating Sexually Abused Children and Their Nonoffending Parents: A Cognitive Behavioral Approach. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
About Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Cognitive behavioral therapy is well-suited for treating sexually abused children.
Dealing With Avoidant Coping
Children may work hard to avoid thinking, talking, or being reminded of sexual abuse. They often use the
same method of coping that they used to deal with the abuse (such as denial, numbing, avoidance,
dissociation) to deal with the cues that remind them of abuse. The cognitive-behavioral approach helps
children break their associations with abuse-related cues using gradual exposure and modeling of more
effective coping methods.
The child's nonoffending parent or caretaker is included in the therapy, first in individual sessions and later in joint sessions. The therapist should first do a thorough assessment to try to determine if abuse has occurred. Psychotic symptoms and suicidal behavior should be treated before using this therapy. Treatment can last 12 to 40 weeks; the longer duration may be needed when the family might be reunified.
Coping Skills Training
The first step for both child and parent is to teach these skills.
Gradual Exposure With Cognitive and Affective Processing
Gradual exposure is the foundation of this treatment. It combines prolonged exposure and systematic
desensitization in ways that are suitable for children. Children get used to lower levels of anxiety before
discussing topics that are more anxiety provoking. The goal is to help children deal with abuse
reminders and memories without experiencing significant distress. Younger children may be given less
exposure, because they cannot understand the need to feel badly in therapy in order to feel better later.
During gradual exposure, clients identify and correct unhelpful beliefs they may hold about themselves, relationships, sexuality, and personal safety. Since children learn their parents' coping styles, it is important that parents be involved.
Child-Behavior Management Skills Training
Parents are taught child-behavior management skills which helps them model and reinforce good coping
in their children and respond effectively to their child's difficult behaviors,
Educational Components
Education is provided in these three areas:
Therapist's Roles
Sexual abuse therapists must model a view of the world that is accurate and hopeful. They must also:
3. The Internalization Model for Therapy top
Wieland, Sandra (1997). "The Need for a Framework: The Internalization Model." Pages 1-51 in Hearing the Internal Trauma: Working With Children and Adolescents Who Have Been Sexually Abused. Volume 17 in Interpersonal Violence: The Practice Series. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.
From the Book Jacket:
The author provides a clear description of how children and adolescents present themselves in therapy,
identifying how distress from abuse can be exhibited in their play, conversation, and behavior. Then,
using a carefully balanced combination of psychoanalytic, behavioral, and cognitive therapies, Wieland
imparts a psychodynamic trauma-focused therapy designed especially for abused children and
adolescents and their parents.
Summary of Chapter 1: The Internalization Model
Several models have been developed over the last decade to help therapists understand the dynamics
of sexual abuse. All of these except the author's Internalization Model fail to address how abuse affects
the child's internal sense of herself and the world, and how these internalizations in turn affect the way
the child behaves. The internalizations that a child makes about her abuse need to be addressed in
therapy to help her recover.
Behaviors Suggest Internalizations Needing Therapy
A child's behaviors following abuse are the therapist's key to uncovering her internalizations. A specific
behavior is not determined by one specific internalization; however, in order to be useful in therapy, this
model simplifies the relationship of internalizations to behavior. Below are internalizations that sexually
abused children commonly make, with a discussion of the situations that encourage them, and the
behaviors that may result from them.
"I am damaged"
All sexual abuse is intrusive on the child's physical self and normal development. It disregards the
normal stages of sexual development and the separateness of the child. Intrusion creates feelings of
being altered or damaged, and usually at the unconscious level which cannot be repaired by simply
affirming that the child is attractive or worthwhile.
Children who experience themselves as damaged treat themselves that way, including:
Children may also experience normal sexual curiosity and arousal as proof there is something wrong with them.
"I am powerless"
Intrusion can make children feel powerless to control what happens to them. Powerlessness leads to a
sense of fear that may be pervasive or only felt in certain situations. It may be conscious or
subconscious and emerge as anxiety attacks.
Feeling powerless can also lead to learned helplessness and acting-out behavior. Often, girls respond with helplessness and boys with increased aggression. Either response can appear in all facets of a child's life or only in sexual situations.
"I am guilty/bad/an object to be used"
Children commonly believe that abuse happens to them because of their personal characteristics, and
internalize guilt and feeling inherently bad. Both before and after disclosure, abuse is likely to be kept
secret, so children are not aware of how common it is. The abuser may also tell the child that the abuse
is her fault for a variety of reasons.
Children can be taught that the abuse is the responsibility of the perpetrator, but a sense of guilt and of being bad remain. The child may fail to protect herself and put herself in situations where abuse is likely to recur. The child may also not protect her right to her own thoughts, feelings, and decisions. Children who see themselves as objects may not care for themselves physically or unduly focus on their outward appearance with little attention to their internal life.
"I am responsible for what happens to others"
All sexual abuse situations involve threats, such as "If you tell, I will go to jail," or unspoken messages
that the family will fall apart. This gives the child an inordinate sense of responsibility for what happens to
others, and if she exposes her abuse, she feels responsible for the family distress that results. She is in
a double bind of needing to do something about a situation but not being able to, leading to fearfulness
and avoidance of decision making.
"I feel chaotic"
Children abused by loved or trusted persons experience great emotional confusion and internalize "I feel
chaotic." This may lead to cut-off emotions or extremes of emotion. Children may act out their feelings
about the abuse toward their caretakers or themselves.
"I am betrayed by people close to me"
Children who are abused by a loved person may internalize, 'I am betrayed by people close to me.' This
may become a self-fulfilling prophecy in her other relationships.
"I have no boundaries"
Children who are abused by a loved person may be unable to develop healthy boundaries. If she
internalizes "I have no boundaries", she may withdraw or become intrusive with others, take on the role
of caring for others and ignoring her own needs, or seek attachment indiscriminately, becoming
promiscuous or tolerating abusive relationships.
"When I am sexual, good things happen"
During sexual abuse, children are conditioned to engage in sexual behaviors as the result of the
attention, physical pleasure and sense of power associated with them. The child internalizes 'When I am
sexual, good things happen,' and repeats the sexual behaviors consciously or unconsciously.
Sexualized behavior in adolescents often takes the form of promiscuity. In younger children, it includes:
"My sexuality means no feeling/ no control/negative feelings"
For children who experience sexual responses of their own and/or behaviors of the abuser that are out of
the range of the child's normal perception of that person, sexuality becomes linked with a sense of fear
and being out of control. Children who cut off their physical sensations link sexuality with lack of feeling,
or freezing and rigidity. These internalizations may affect all their later sexual experiences or only those
of a particular kind or with a particular type of person.
"What I am told is not what is meant"
Some level of distortion of communication occurs in all sexual abuse. With extreme abuse, distortion
becomes more pervasive and results in the child's internalizing 'What I am told is not what is meant.' For
some children, all statements will become suspect, while for others only statements by people similar to
the abuser will be affected.
"I have no emotions/no experience/no integrated self"
In severe abuse, the child is placed in nightmarish situations from which there is no physical escape,
leaving only emotional and cognitive routes of escape. The distortions of reality that result include:
4. Strengths and Resiliency in Therapy top
Anderson, Kim M. (1997). "Uncovering Survival Abilities in Children Who Have Been Sexually Abused." Families in Society v78 n6 p592-599.
The strengths perspective in social work and the resiliency literature that comes from research in developmental psychopathology can be combined into an approach that helps sexually abused children.
The Strengths Perspective
The strengths perspective recognizes that an individual has resources and potential for growth which
should be identified and built upon to help meet her or his treatment goals. The Strengths Assessment is
a tool used to identify an individual's personal and environmental strengths in the areas of family, school,
health, leisure, daily living and social supports. For a sexually abused child, a strengths assessment
should also explore what survival skills the child developed to deal with the abuse.
Definitions of Resiliency
Resiliency studies look at how certain qualities in children living in adverse conditions helped them resist
stress and avoid adult pathology. Resilient children are defined as those who successfully 'engage' with
risk and come through as competent individuals with few problems.
To use the resiliency concept with sexually abused children, we should broaden the definition of resilience so that it is not restricted to competence. Sexually abused children may not be fully competent, but they are still resilient. All their work on self-repair takes tremendous energy and may prevent them from finishing important developmental tasks.
Seven Resiliency Attributes
A broader definition of resiliency is that the child develops some of the following attributes as the result
of surviving adversity. The practitioner can use this list to help uncover strengths in sexually abused
children.
Practitioners Should Honor Survival Skills
Honoring children's survival skills in treatment is important because these skills helped children exercise
some control over their abuse experiences. By learning to respect their survival abilities, children can
learn to see themselves positively.
Survival abilities, such as daydreaming, are often assumed to be problems instead of valuable tools to relieve trauma. Practitioners may try to change or eliminate 'problem' behaviors that are actually essential strengths. Rather than trying to eliminate daydreaming, the practitioner can help the child become aware of how it helped her cope and how it can be used constructively in other negative situations. If children's survival skills are ignored and practitioners focus only on their problems, children may continue to see themselves as damaged rather than learning to use their skills for recovery.
5. Problems of Abused Teens top
Chandy, Joseph M., Robert W. Blum, and Michael D. Resnick (1996). "Gender-Specific Outcomes for Sexually Abused Adolescents." Child Abuse and Neglect v20 n12 p1219-1231.
Garnefski, Nadia and Ellen Arends (1998). "Sexual Abuse and Adolescent Maladjustment: Differences Between Male and Female Victims." Journal of Adolescence v21 n1 p99-107.
Sexual Abuse Can Distress All Age Groups
Previous studies on the effects of sexual abuse have found that:
Boys May Externalize While Girls May Internalize
There are few studies on the differences in problems between male and female victims, and they have
limitations in method. However, they suggest that girls are more inclined to internalize their problems
and boys to externalize.
Two Current Studies
The authors conducted two separate surveys of public school students to learn about the different
responses of female and male adolescents.
Boys Reported Significant Behavioral Problems
Abused boys' responses showed:
Girls Reported More Self-Image Problems
As opposed to boys, abused girls' responses showed:
Resiliency Factors
One of the surveys also identified protective factors and found that 26% of the boys and 43% of the girls
showed resiliency characteristics.
For girls, the protective factors included:
For boys, the protective factors included:
Anticipate Problems in Both Girls and Boys
The possibility of severe multiple problems in both boys and girls with a history of sexual abuse should
be taken very seriously. These studies suggest that the consequences of sexual abuse may be even
more severe for boys than for girls, particularly in behavioral problems and suicidal tendencies.
Chaffin, Mark, Barbara L. Bonner, Karen Boyd Worley, and Louanne Lawson (1996). "Treating Abused Adolescents." Pages 119-139 in The APSAC Handbook on Child Maltreatment. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Effects of Sexual Abuse in Teens
Compared to younger children:
Which Teens Need Treatment?
Not all abused teens need treatment, and it can be difficult to determine who does. Teens may be
reluctant about treatment because they want to forget about the abuse, or fear stigmatization by their
peers or being blamed for the abuse. However, avoidant coping styles, such as wishful thinking,
detachment, distancing and denial, are associated with poorer psychological adjustment and higher
symptom levels, so teens should not be excluded from treatment on the basis of their reluctance.
The Initial Interview
Sensitive assessment of abused teens must:
Assess for a Variety of Difficulties
Teens should be assessed for these possible difficulties:
It is crucial that teens have support that includes the belief of their nonoffending parent(s), which is the factor that predicts recovery most strongly. Teens also fear being stigmatized by their peers as a 'slut' or being gay, and need the ability to confide in at least one trusted peer.
Assessing Attributions
If teens attribute control of the abuse to themselves, they can experience lower self-esteem and more
depression. However, teens who blame outside forces for the abuse in a global way can experience
themselves as helpless in a world with random, unavoidable victimization. Explore teens' attributions
nonjudgementally first before suggesting alternative points of view.
Psychological Testing Can be Useful
Testing can help determine a teen's resources and difficulties and also provides a baseline for tracking
progress in treatment. The testing experience should emphasize strengths and coping resources.
Is Inpatient Treatment Needed?
Sexually abused adolescents are admitted to inpatient units for the same reasons as nonabused teens:
Because it is disruptive, inpatient treatment should be used as sparingly and briefly as possible. Disclosure of abuse is often followed by intense emotion and dramatic behaviors, and these should not be mistaken for psychotic symptoms or lead to hospitalization because the therapist is uncomfortable or unprepared to deal with them.
Treat the Most Painful Problems First
Therapy should first address acutely painful problems, such as panic attacks, sleep problems, severe
anxiety or fearfulness, that need immediate relief. Relieving these problems first helps the progress of
therapy. These treatments can help:
Teens Need Therapeutic Education
Discussions, readings and handouts can help teens feel validated and supported. They will need
education about:
Teens may appear 'worldly' about sexuality, but their information may be inappropriate. Abused teens may think of sex as either as "all bad" or "anything goes." They may need to correct and develop their understanding of healthy sexuality and respectful relationships, and how they differ from abusive sexuality. They will also need to learn how to protect themselves from future abusive experiences.
Group Psychotherapy is Helpful
Studies do not demonstrate that either group or individual therapy is better, or that therapies of different
duration or format are more effective, or that it is better to offer therapy right after abuse or wait until
issues arise. However, group therapy is widely recommended for this age group. Its advantages include:
Group therapy should not be used with teens who:
Therapy With Abused Teens is Challenging
Working with sexually abused teens is challenging to therapists. Therapists may need consultation with
their supervisors or therapy for themselves in order to remain compassionate and objective and to avoid
withdrawing, retaliating, reenacting abuse, or exploiting their clients.
7. The Recovering From Abuse Project top
Hazzard, Ann (1996). "Structured Treatment and Prevention Activities for Sexually Abused Children." Pages 23-39 in The Hatherleigh Guide to Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy. New York: Hatherleigh Press.
The Recovering From Abuse Project
The Recovering From Abuse Project (RAP) was developed for sexually abused girls and their
nonoffending caretakers in a low-income, primarily African-American population where single-mother
families were the norm; however, it can be adapted for use with anyone. It is unusual in using structured
activities for individual therapy. Eight hour-long sessions, are used with half of each session spent with
the child and half spent with the mother.
Evaluation Shows Parental Improvement
The Project was evaluated by comparing 15 girls and their mothers with those of 17 control families who
participated in "treatment as usual." Both treatment programs reduced children's symptoms and
improved their functioning. However, the RAP was more effective in increasing caretakers' support of the
children, decreasing caretakers' self-blame and decreasing caretakers' expectations of unduly negative
impact of abuse on the children.
Specific RAP Activities
The activities described below were developed for the RAP. A complete RAP treatment manual is
available from the author at Box 26065 Grady Hospital, 80 Butler Street, Atlanta, GA 30335.
The Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Model of Sexual Abuse
According to this model, sexual abuse is an anxiety-provoking experience for most children. Children
respond with heightened physiologic reactions, anxious feelings and distorted thinking. Children may
experience intrusive recollections of the abuse and engage in play representations of it. They may also
have abuse-related dreams and distress at cues or symbols of the abuse. Children defend against these
experiences by avoidance, withdrawal or emotional numbing. One limitation of this model is that it does
not include emotional reactions to abuse other than anxiety.
RAP Activities for Coping with PTSD Symptoms
PTSD symptoms must often be addressed first in therapy. Mastering rather than suppressing abuse-related anxiety is crucial to a child's long-term recovery. These activities can help:
Finkelhor's Traumagenic Factor Model
According to the model proposed by David Finkelhor, most sexually abused children must cope with
these four major issues to varying degrees:
RAP Activities For Coping with Self-Blame
Many children feel some degree of guilt about sexual abuse. Rather than simply stating that "The abuse
is not your fault," learn first about the child's attributions using these activities:
Treat Parental Blame
When parents blame themselves or the child in any way, their attributions should be addressed. When
their self-blame is appropriate, the therapist must help parents take responsibility for their contributions
while discouraging global self-blame and undue guilt.
"Who I Told" Worksheet Helps With Betrayal
Children usually feel betrayed by a known perpetrator and may feel betrayed by their nonoffending
parent(s). They may avoid disclosing the abuse to people who could be supportive out of fear of a
negative reception. Use the "Who I Told" worksheet and discussion to help the child develop positive yet
realistic and individualized expectations about trusting others. Ask children to list whom they told about
the abuse and to paste sticker faces to indicate how each person reacted. In another column they are
asked to list people not told and to use stickers to indicate each person's expected response.
RAP Activities For Coping with Traumatic Sexualization
Asking the children to draw pictures of ages they would like to be can reveal if children have
developmentally regressed or become prematurely sexualized. If children draw themselves as younger
or older, discuss the positive aspects of being the age they are now and how they can be safe now.
Education about healthy sexuality is essential and can be provided by reading appropriate printed materials together (therapist, parent and child). Parents may appreciate this structured approach to sex education. Playing a "Name That Touch Game" - in which brief situations are read from cards and the child classifies each situation as OK or not OK - can be helpful.
Parents of children who have developing sexualized behavior problems may need help in setting appropriate limits to these behaviors.
Prevention Activities Help With Powerlessness
Prevention activities may help children recover from feelings of helplessness. A number of good
materials are commercially available. Asking "what if" questions and role playing can teach children how
to avoid future abuse by saying no, leaving and telling someone. Girls should be prepared for date rape
situations, review "pick-up" lines, and talk about what makes it hard to refuse someone they like.
8. Nonoffending Parents are Poorly Studied top
Tamraz, Djenane Nakhle (1996). "Nonoffending Mothers of Sexually Abused Children: Comparison of Opinions and Research." Journal of Child Sexual Abuse v5 n4 p75-104.
Joyce, Patricia A. (1997). "Mothers of Sexually Abused Children and the Concept of Collusion: A Literature Review." Journal of Child Sexual Abuse v6 n2 p75-92.
Corcoran, Jaqueline (1998). "In Defense of Mothers of Sexual Abuse Victims." Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Human Services v79 n4 p358-369.
Most Writing About Mothers is Opinion
Most of the literature about nonoffending mothers is opinion-based literature.
Opinion-Based Descriptions of Mothers
In opinion-based literature, mothers are described as physically ill, disabled, depressed, psychotic,
suicidal, alcoholic, sexual abuse victims themselves, battered, dependent, passive, submissive,
masochistic, dissatisfied with their marriages, absent from home, sexually dysfunctional, detached or
overinvolved, lacking parenting skills, engaged in role reversal with their daughters, frightened or
terrorized by their partners, and not always supportive of their children when they learn of abuse.
Collusion is Often Assumed
Authors often believe mothers consciously or unconsciously collude with the abuse or are more
concerned with maintaining the appearance of an ideal family. If a mother initially denies abuse when it
is first exposed, this is seen as evidence of collusion. Mothers' distress and the difficulties and
complexities of reporting the abuse are rarely considered.
There Are Few Research Studies of Mothers
Only a few studies have investigated nonoffending mothers from a research perspective. Unfortunately,
these studies often have limitations, such as lacking comparison groups and reliable instruments.
Psychology - One study of mothers' psychological functioning found that nonoffending mothers may tend to be conformists with a need to belong. The other studies have found conflicting results about whether these mothers have greater difficulties with depression and psychiatric problems than other mothers.
Role - One study has found conflict or confusion between the mothers' marital and maternal roles. Mothers may reverse their roles with their daughters, usually the eldest, or experience role confusion between their daughters and partners.
History of Abuse - Two studies have found that nonoffending mothers have experienced sexual abuse themselves at a higher rate than other mothers. This suggests that sexual abuse may be passed from one generation to another, although how this happens has not been studied.
Battering - Three studies have found that mothers of incest victims are more subject to battering than other mothers. It is not known if the mothers have an inclination to engage in abusive relationships or to tolerate victimization.
Awareness of Child Abuse - Two small studies have found that the majority of nonoffending mothers were not aware of the sexual abuse of their children in cases involving both intra- and extrafamilial offenders.
Distress at Child Abuse - Four studies have found that nonoffending mothers are distressed when they learn about their children's abuse. They experience:
One study found that mothers' symptoms decline over 12 months after disclosure, and are helped by family therapy. This suggests that mothers are distressed as a result of learning about sexual abuse, rather than that they were distressed prior to the abuse and thus contributed to it.
Four studies have found that nonoffending mothers who have experienced sexual abuse themselves are significantly more distressed than other mothers when their children are abused
Belief of Child - Studies of how mothers try to protect and support their children have found that a majority of mothers believe their children and take some action, including pressing charges and seeking counseling. Some study results include:
Influences on Support of Child - Five studies of the factors that influence how nonoffending mothers support their children found these results:
Practitioners Should Rely on Research
More valid sources of information are needed in order to fully understand the behaviors, experiences,
and capacities of mothers of incest and other sexual abuse victims.
The existing research suggests that a nonoffending mother is generally unaware of the abuse, has high levels of distress after disclosure and reacts differently depending on her relationship with the offender, the victim and her own family, as well as her personality traits and coping style. Research does not support collusion as a way to explain the behavior of nonoffending mothers. A more useful concept would be a continuum of 'diminished capacity to protect' their children experienced by some mothers.
9. Nonoffending Parents Experience Significant Losses top
Massat, Carol Rippey and Marta Lundy (1998). "Reporting Costs to Nonoffending Parents in Cases of Intrafamilial Sexual Abuse." Child Abuse and Neglect v77 n4 p371-88
Past Literature Blamed Mothers
In the past, literature about child sexual abuse took a severely blaming stance toward nonoffending
parents (usually mothers). Now, researchers are more interested in trying to understand the factors that
affect a nonoffender's parenting ability.
Mothers May Experience Substantial Losses
The authors surveyed a sample of 104 nonoffending parents (100 female and 4 male) and found that
99% experienced significant losses when their children disclosed sexual abuse.
Relational Losses
A mothers may lose her intimate partner if that person is the offender as well as loss of support from
family and friends due to the blame and shame associated with incest. In this survey:
Financial and Vocational Losses
A mothers may lose the offender's income, which may have been the primary means of family support.
Nonoffending parents may also lose income for time away from work, or lose their jobs due to court
appearances and therapy appointments. In this survey:
Residential Losses
After divorce, separation or loss of income, the nonoffending parent may have to move, with the
possibility of reduced living conditions. 50% of this sample had to move after disclosure, although none
reported reduced living conditions.
Nonoffending Parents Need Support
The needs of nonoffending parents may be as great as those of abused children. They must deal with
emotional trauma and material adversity at a time when they are called upon to give extraordinary
support to their children. The fears that nonoffending parents have about reporting sexual abuse have a
realistic foundation. Initial denial and disbelief on a nonoffending parent's part is a normal response to
loss and not necessarily an indication of the parent's ultimate support of the child. Blaming nonoffending
parents for the abuse may strengthen their denial and reduce their ability to provide their children with
much-needed help.
10. How to Support Nonoffending Parents top
Steinmetz, Melissa (1996). "Intervening with Non-Offending Parents During an Abuse Investigation." APSAC Advisor v5 n3 p4-5.
Nonoffending Parents Have Painful Feelings
Often, nonoffending parents are so focused on dealing with their own reactions to learning that a child
has been sexually abused that it is difficult for them to help the child at first. They often experience:
Assess the Mother's Feelings and Needs
Child protective workers should anticipate a nonoffending parent's feelings and needs. Ask these
questions at the initial interview to help assess her feelings, strengths, relationship with the abuser,
relationship to her child, and needs.
Offer Weekly Support
Regular contact with parents to talk, provide support and help with connections to other services is very
beneficial. Also offer these supports:
11. Foster Parents Fear False Allegations top
Swan, Tracy A. (1997) "Problems in Caring for Sexually Abused Girls: Care Providers Speak Out." Community Alternatives v9 n1 p71-87.
Concern is growing about the possibility of false allegations of sexual abuse when sexually abused children are in foster care. Literature suggests that sexually abused children in foster care may be unable to tell the difference between appropriate, affectionate family touching and behavior that was connected with their past abuse. Also, children might use allegations to accomplish a goal such as moving to a different foster home. Out of fear of experiencing false allegations, foster parents may refuse to take sexually abused children.The author studied eight well-experienced foster care providers in Toronto who had fostered abused girls.
Families Feel Vulnerable and Anxious
The possibility of men and boys in the fostering homes being falsely accused of sexual abuse was the
major concern of the families. They felt continually vigilant, anxious, and vulnerable. They tended to
view the child as untrustworthy, seductive and threatening, a view that is shared with much of society
and child welfare agencies.
Families Protect Males With Rules for Behavior
The families protected the males in the households by establishing rules, such as:
Distinct Roles for Fathers and Mothers
These rules resulted in distancing the fathers/brothers from the child and limited the fathers' role to
taking care of the physical home environment. This made the foster mother responsible for the girl's
care. Foster mothers also felt obliged to provide constant supervision to enforce the rules and to help
mediate the relationship between the household males and the child - an exhausting burden for the
mothers. These parental roles prevented the family from providing a normal environment and reduced its
therapeutic value for the child.
Parents Felt Isolated
Foster parents also felt isolated and unsupported by the child welfare agency as well as by friends and
family who did not understand their way of life. The mothers particularly felt they had inadequate training
and support from the agency about how to care for the children. They felt that the agency ignored their
concerns about false allegations and failed to support them when allegations were made.
Child Welfare Agencies Should Make Changes
It would be a better environment for abused girls if foster families could model more egalitarian sharing
of parenting roles, but it is unrealistic and unfair to expect the parents to make these changes. Agencies
should consider these points:
Links to Sexual Abuse Websites
A collection of links to resources on child sexual abuse is found here.
http://www.cs.utk.edu/~bartley/index/childSexualAbuse/
Hotline
The National Child Abuse Hotline website is found here.
http://www.childhelpusa.org/
Parents United
This page gives contact information for all chapters of the Parents United support organization.
http://members.tripod.com/~Parents_United/Chapters/PUI.htm
List of Illinois Sexual Assault Centers
The Rape Abuse and Incest National Network maintains a list of sexual assault crises centers. Enter
"Illinois" to get a list of centers in Illinois.
http://www.rainn.org/counseling.html
Champaign County Help Groups
These two sites maintain lists of sexual abuse/assault help groups and services in Champaign County.
http://www.prairienet.org/helpbook/key246.htm
http://www.prairienet.org/selfhelp/abuse.htm#sexualabuse
Materials for Parents
Sexual Abuse of Boys
A paper on this topic is offered by an individual researcher at Boston University School of Medicine.
http://www.jimhopper.com/male-ab