Journal of Child Sexual Abuse最新文献

The voices of individuals convicted of sexual offenses - including the voices of females - are often silenced in research. Exploring the user voice has many advantages, including service improvement and enhanced evidence-based program development and design. The current study utilized the user voice by attaining perceptions of women sentenced for child sexual abuse (CSA) in Australia - to identify what they perceived as missed opportunities for support that may have forestalled onset of their CSA perpetration. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 18 women across three jurisdictions in Australia who had been sentenced for CSA offenses. Two themes were identified from the inductive analysis: (1) desire for early intervention supports and (2) multi-level barriers to accessing support. Although a range of supports were desired spanning various developmental life-stages, personal, relationship, and system-level factors impacted accessibility to services. Three implications were identified from our findings: (1) further research could explore ways to enhance service accessibility, not just availability, ensuring those at-risk of offending are aware of - and can access - various services; (2) a gender-responsive lens in the prevention of female-perpetrated CSA could be adopted; and (3) prevention efforts could utilize a developmental life-course perspective. Such prevention needs to be practical and direct. Limitations and ideas for future research are discussed.

This study examines mothers' decisions to disclose past experiences of sexual assault to their children. These survivors reported their assaults to the police years ago, but no action was taken in their cases. When new DNA evidence came to light, prosecutors re-opened their cases, which caused significant disruption in survivors' personal lives and in their family dynamics. We examined whether the mothers in our sample decided to tell their children about their past sexual assault and pending court cases, and whether these decisions varied by the current age of their children. We conducted exploratory qualitative interviews with N = 32 sexual assault survivors and completed a content analysis to identify why the subsample of n = 23 survivors who had children did or did not disclose to their children. 30% of mothers disclosed to their children, all of whom were currently adolescents/young adults. Some felt compelled to disclose because the police's attempts to recontact them prompted questions or concerns from their children. Other mothers disclosed intentionally so they could explain why they had been depressed and anxious for years, and how this distress shaped their parenting relationships. 70% of the mothers did not disclose to their kids, most of whom were currently youth/pre-adolescents, to protect their emotional and/or physical safety. Overall, sexual assault survivors were hesitant to tell their children about their past victimization experiences and wanted more choice and control over if and how to share their information with their kids.

For women who experienced sexual abuse during childhood, motherhood represents a period of heightened psychological vulnerability, often reactivating past trauma and influencing the development of the maternal bond. This qualitative study, grounded in an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) approach, explores the experiences of ten women involved in judicial proceedings who had been victims of early sexual abuse. Drawing on their life narratives, the analysis highlights the specific psychological effects of parenthood within trajectories shaped by trauma. Pregnancy, childbirth, and the early stages of motherhood are perceived as critical periods, often marked by fears of trauma recurrence, loss of control, and unconscious projections onto the child. These projections, frequently linked to the child's gender, may evoke symbolic identifications with either the aggressor or the victim, rendering the initial bonding process particularly complex. The mother - child relationship is often strained by a tension between overprotection, mistrust, and uncertainty regarding maternal competence. However, for some participants, this period of crisis also contained transformative potential. For several women, motherhood became a pivotal moment that led to the disclosure of past abuse, the initiation of psychological work, and the beginning of a reconstruction process. The desire to protect their child served as a powerful catalyst for change. These findings highlight the importance of clinical support attuned to the traumatic and identity-related dimensions of motherhood in order to foster mentalization processes and prevent the intergenerational transmission of trauma.

Child sexual abuse and exploitation (CSAE) poses risks to the wellbeing of survivors, families, and society. The purpose of this exploratory research was to identify challenges, gaps, and opportunities of the Irish response to CSAE based on perceptions of professionals involved. The sample (n = 10) consisted of professionals from various fields, representing legal, social work, practitioners, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) relating to CSAE prevention or intervention work. Qualitative data was collected via one-to-one structured interviews. Data was thematically analyzed. Four main themes arose: (1) ease of access; describing accessibility to problematic material, perpetrators' access to children, and access of big tech to children. (2) Awareness; detailing parental awareness of CSAE, awareness of the prevalence of children with harmful sexual behaviors (HSB), as well as education on CSAE. (3) Resources; referring to pressure on NGO's and charities to combatting CSAE, funding required, a lack of policy and regulations to protect children, and availability of accessible services to victims and families. (4) Victim-focused; acknowledged by a need for holistic prevention, a more equitable justice system, and advocacy for victims' independent needs and ongoing respectful care. The results highlight the ongoing and accelerating use of technology in CSAE perpetration, calls for greater awareness and resources by professionals combatting CSAE, and the need to consider holistic preventative strategies, as well as individualized care for survivors. These insights have implications for practitioners and policy makers concerned with strategies of CSAE prevention and intervention.

Child sexual abuse is common within the family context but often underreported, especially in same-sex incestuous cases. The delay in disclosure is in part due to the sexual grooming strategies, which have been explored in many studies. However, sexual grooming is difficult to identify in the context of intra-familial sexual abuse, and its effects on victims need to be thoroughly researched. This study utilized the content-validated Sexual Grooming Model as a framework to identify sexual grooming behaviors in the case of the Menendez brothers, whom their father sexually abused. Data was obtained from their testimonies at the first trial in 1993, which is publicly available. Results showed evidence of sexual grooming, with most endorsed strategies to desensitize the victims and maintain the abuse. An important finding was that the mother, who was also the victim of her husband, facilitated sexual abuse by maintaining secrecy and enabling access to her children. The study highlights the diversity of sexual abuse victims and the need for society and professionals to be aware of the grooming processes, which are harder to identify within the family. Further research areas and implications are discussed.

Child marriage and intimate partner violence (IPV) are global health crises that violate individual human rights. Prior research has linked child marriage to IPV in lower-and-middle-income countries; however, information regarding this relationship in Kenya is sparse. The present study aims to (a) estimate the prevalence of child marriage and various forms of IPV (emotional, physical, and sexual) and (b) examine the association between child marriage and IPV among Kenyan women. This study utilized the most recent 2022 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS), a large scale and nationally representative dataset. A total of 12,888 participants (M_age = 32.35 years; SD = 7.96) were included in the final analysis. The prevalence rates of child marriage and experiencing at least one form of IPV, emotional, physical, and sexual IPV, were found to be 31.23%, 44.8%, 34.5%, 32.6%, and 10.1%, respectively. Multinomial regression models revealed that the likelihood of experiencing at least one form of IPV was 25% higher (OR = 1.25, 95% CI = 1.16-1.36, p < .01), emotional IPV was 19% higher (OR = 1.19, 95% CI = 1.09-1.29, p < .01), and physical IPV was 31% higher (OR = 1.57, 95% CI = 1.21-1.43, p < .01) among Kenyan women who married before the age of 18 years. Findings highlight the need for effective policy enforcement and implementation to prevent child marriage and safeguard women from IPV within child marriages.

Background and objectives: Research on the prevalence of child sexual abuse within the Catholic Church has been limited in Europe. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence and characteristics of religious-related sexual abuse in a broad sample of the Spanish population, placing it within the broader context of sexual violence against children and adolescents.

Participants and setting: Among the survey respondents, 52.3% were women (n = 4,188) and 47.7% were men (n = 3,825). Participants ranged in age from 18 to 100 years (M = 51.5, SD = 17.6), with the majority (n = 7,154; 89.5%) born in Spain.

Results: The results indicated that 11.7% of respondents were victims of child sexual abuse, with a higher prevalence among women (8.6%) compared to men (3.1%). A total of 1.1% of respondents reported having experienced religious-related sexual abuse, primarily in religious educational institutions or churches, with 0.6% identifying a Catholic clergyman as the perpetrator. The majority of ecclesiastical abuse involved physical contact, and in many cases, the abuse was recurrent. Victims of religious-related abuse reported more significant spiritual consequences compared to those abused in other contexts.

Conclusion: The findings highlight patterns of sexual abuse similar to those observed in other countries, with a notable prevalence of abuse in male Catholic schools during the Franco dictatorship era.

Various studies have concluded that parents are the main social actors in protecting children from sexual abuse. The purpose of this study was to explore mothers' knowledge about child sexual abuse (CSA), as well as their skills, and their main needs to identify and prevent it. We conducted an explorative qualitative study. We collected the data using semi-structured interviews with 16 mothers from elementary schools in two states in Mexico. The main results indicate that mothers knew what CSA is, as well as its causes and consequences, but require more training and support in order to identify and prevent it effectively. Most of the participants acknowledged the difficulty they have in discussing sexuality issues with their children and would not know how to proceed in case of CSA, nevertheless they are interested in receiving information because they believe their children could be at risk.

Millions of children around the globe experience abuse every year, with over a thousand children dying within the United States in 2020 alone as a result of child abuse. Child abuse can take different shapes, such as physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, and neglect, all of which can leave a lasting impact on the victim which can alter their childhood as well as their adulthood. Two aspects of adulthood that can be impacted by childhood abuse that are addressed within this article are attachment style and sexual satisfaction. The purpose of this study was to examine the associations between childhood physical abuse, childhood sexual abuse, adult attachment, and adult sexual satisfaction. This study has accomplished this by using a mediating model with adult attachment as the mediator in a sample of 30,507 partnered adults from a cohort study. Results from the mediation analysis illustrated significant, albeit modest in size, negative links between childhood physical abuse and adult sexual satisfaction through levels of adult attachment insecurity. These results are important as they encourage clinicians to consider the indirect impact events can have on individuals, the importance of considering contextual factors, and thinking systemically when examining the connection between events and concerns our clients present us with. Analyzing and understanding these dynamics can allow clinicians to better support their clients when addressing the impacts of child abuse, insecure adult attachment, and sexual dissatisfaction in adulthood.

Considering the damaging effects of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) on survivors' mental health, the purpose of this study was to investigate the role of shame-proneness and sexual shame in the long-term psychological effects of CSA. Shame has been implicated as a post-trauma response and key factor in long-term outcomes. As CSA is sexual in nature, this study examined the pathways from CSA to depression via both shame-proneness and sexual shame, as well as the moderating role of view of God. Cross-sectional data was collected through online surveys from adults who reported believing in God (N = 1055). Analyses consisted of a parallel mediation model and a series of moderated mediation models. Findings supported significant indirect effects of CSA on depression through separate pathways of sexual shame and shame-proneness, which explained 62.8% of the variance in depression. Surprisingly, for believers, perceiving God as loving strengthened the effect of CSA on sexual shame, which subsequently corresponded to increases in depression. These findings have critical implications for working with CSA survivors, denoting the relevance of both shame-proneness and sexual shame as key pathways to psychopathology, which may be exacerbated by certain views of God.