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Parental experiences in cases of child sexual abuse: a qualitative study
Author(s) -
Scott Dorothy A.
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
child and family social work
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.912
H-Index - 57
eISSN - 1365-2206
pISSN - 1356-7500
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2206.1996.tb00015.x
Subject(s) - child sexual abuse , statutory law , social work , qualitative research , psychology , perception , human sexuality , sexual abuse , child protection , service (business) , child abuse , developmental psychology , social psychology , medicine , nursing , suicide prevention , poison control , medical emergency , sociology , gender studies , political science , social science , economy , neuroscience , law , economics
This paper describes the themes which emerged from in‐depth interviews with parents of a small number of Australian children who were believed to have been sexually abused. The parents’ experiences in the wake of the abuse, including their involvement with three services ‐ a hospital counselling service, the statutory child protection service, and the police ‐ were explored in home interviews conducted 3 months following termination of the case by these services. The themes include: issues related to trust and authority in the casework relationship; expectations of counselling; contamination of normal sexuality in the family; the perception of the sexually abused child as‘damaged’; and relationships within their family and social network. Some of the implications for practice are discussed.