The lived experiences of mothers whose children were sexually abused by their intimate male partners

 

 

Gertie Pretorius; Audrey Patricia Chauke; Brandon Morgan

 

 

---

ABSTRACT

Child sexual abuse is a global phenomenon that affects many families and appears to be increasing dramatically in South Africa. The literature on child sexual abuse focuses mainly on the victims and perpetrators while largely ignoring the experiences of non-offending mothers. The objective of this study was to explore the lived experiences of mothers whose children were sexually abused by their intimate male partners. Existential phenomenology was employed in the study, and Braun and Clarke's (2006) six-phase thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. The results indicate that the participants experienced emotions similar to those following loss including disbelief, anger, guilt, depression, trust and blame.

---

 

 

“Full text available only in PDF format”

 

 

References

Alaggia, R. (1999). Contextualizing maternal response to Intrafamilial child sexual abuse: An exploratory study. Unpublished doctoral thesis. University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.         [ Links ]

Alaggia, R. (2003). Many ways of telling: Expanding conceptualisations of child sexual abuse disclosure. Child Abuse & Neglect, 28, 1213-1227.         [ Links ]

Archer, J. (1999). The nature of grief. The evolution and psychology of reaction to loss. London: Routledge.         [ Links ]

Bannister, A. (2003). Creative therapies with traumatised children. London: Longman Group.         [ Links ]

Beckett, C. (2007). Child protection. An introduction. London: Sage.         [ Links ]

Bolen, R. M. (2001). Child sexual abuse. Its scope and our failure. New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.         [ Links ]

Breckenridge, J. (2006). 'Speaking of mothers How does the literature portray mothers who have a history of child sexual abuse? Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 5(2), 57-86.         [ Links ]

Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3, 77-101.         [ Links ]

Cameron, S. J., Snowdon, A., & Orr, R. R. (1992). Emotions experienced by mothers of children with developmental disabilities. Child Health Care, 21(2), 96-102.         [ Links ]

Carter, B. J. (1999). Who's to blame? Child sexual abuse and non-offending mothers. Toronto: University of Toronto.         [ Links ]

Cavanaugh, J .C., & Blanchard-Fields, F. (2006). Adult development and aging (5^th ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomson Higher Education.         [ Links ]

Children's Act No. 38 (2005). Government Gazette. (No. 28944).         [ Links ]

Colman, R. A., & Widom, C. S. (2004). Childhood abuse and neglect and adult intimate relationships: A prospective study. Child Abuse & Neglect, 28, 1133-1151.         [ Links ]

Constitution of South Africa. (1996). Government Gazette. (No. 108).         [ Links ]

Corbella, N., & Collings, S.J. (2007). The news about child sexual abuse: A systematic analysis of reports in the South African language press. Social Behaviour and Personality, 35(3), 387-398.         [ Links ]

Corr, C. A., Nabe, C. M., & Corr, D. M. (2006). Death & dying, life & living. Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth.         [ Links ]

Creswell, J. E. (1998). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five traditions. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.         [ Links ]

Currer, C. (2007). Loss and social work. Transforming social work practice. London: Learning Matters.         [ Links ]

Daly, P. (2005). Mothers living with suicidal adolescents. A phenomenological study of their experience. Journal of Psychosocial Nursing & Mental Health Services, 43(3), 22-28.         [ Links ]

Davel, C. J. (2000). Introduction to child law in South Africa. Lansdowne: Juta.         [ Links ]

Deblinger, E., & Heflin, A. H. (1996). Treating sexually abused children and their non-offending parents. A cognitive behavioural approach. California: SAGE.         [ Links ]

Dempster, C. (2002). Silent war on South African women. Retrieved from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2low/africa/1909229.stm        [ Links ]

Doyle, C. (1994). Child sexual abuse. A guide for health professionals. London: Chapman & Hall.         [ Links ]

Furniss, T. (1992). The multi-professional handbook of child sexual abuse. Integrated management, therapy and legal intervention. London: Routledge.         [ Links ]

Gillman, B. (1991). The facts about child sexual abuse. London: Routledge.         [ Links ]

Goretsky, S. R., & Smith, B. E. (1992). The controversial role of the non-offending parent in child sexual abuse cases. Legal Rights Journal, 18, 18-22.         [ Links ]

Grace, E. K. P., & Vella, S. M. (1994). Vesting mothers with power they do not have: The non-offending parent in civil sexual assault cases: J. (L.A) v. J.(H.) and J.(J.). Canadian Journal of Women and the Law, 7, 184-196.         [ Links ]

Granot, T. (2005). Without you. Children and young people growing up with loss and its effects. London: Jessica Kingsley.         [ Links ]

Harvey, J. H. (2000). Give sorrow words. Perspectives on loss and trauma. Philadelphia: Brunner/Mazel.         [ Links ]

Hook, D., Watts, J., & Cockcroft, K. (2004). Developmental psychology. Lansdowne: University of Cape Town.         [ Links ]

Hooper, C. A. (1992). Mothers surviving child sexual abuse. London: Routledge.         [ Links ]

Lachman, P. (2004). Understanding the current position of research in Africa as the foundation for child protection programs. Child Abuse & Neglect, 28, 813-815.         [ Links ]

Langdridge, D. (2007). Phenomenological psychology. Theory, research and method. Essex: Pearson Education Limited/ Prentice Hall.         [ Links ]

London, K., Buck, M. Wright, D. B., & Ceci, S. J. (2008). Review of the contemporary literature on how children report sexual abuse to others: Findings, methodological issues, and implications for forensic interviews. Memory, 16(1), 29-47.         [ Links ]

Lovett, B. B. (2004). Child sexual abuse disclosure: Maternal response and other variables impacting on the victim. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 21(4), 355-371.         [ Links ]

Machel, G. (2004). Foreword. In L. Richter, A. Dawes & C. Higson-Smith. Sexual abuse of young children in Southern Africa (pp. ix-x). Cape Town: HSRC.         [ Links ]

Madu, S. N. (2001). Childhood forcible sexual assault and victim-perpetrator relationship among a sample of secondary school students in the Northern Province (South Africa). Crime Research in South Africa, 2(2). Retrieved from http://www.crisa.org.za/downloads/rape.pdf        [ Links ]

Marris, P. (1986). Loss and change. London: Routledge & Keegan Paul.         [ Links ]

McClelland, J. (1995). Sending children to kindergarten. A phenomenological study of mother's experiences. Family Relations, 44(2), 177-183.         [ Links ]

McCourt, J., Peel, J. C. F., & O'Carroll, P. (1998). The effects of child sexual abuse on the protecting parent(s): Identifying a counselling response. Counselling Psychology Quarterly, 11(3), 283-299.         [ Links ]

Miller, W. L., & Crabtree, B. F. (1999a). Clinical research. A multimethod typology and qualitative roadmap. In B. F. Crabtreee & W. L. Miller (Eds.). Doing qualitative research (pp. 3-30) (2^nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.         [ Links ]

Miller, W. L., & Crabtree, B. F. (1999b). Depth interviewing. In B. F. Crabtreee & W. L. Miller (Eds.). Doing qualitative research (pp. 89-107) (2^nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.         [ Links ]

Morse, J. M., & Richards, L. (2002). Read me first for a user's guide to qualitative methods. California: SAGE.         [ Links ]

Omery, A. (1983). Phenomenology: A method for nursing research. Advances in Nursing Science, 5(2), 49-63.         [ Links ]

Pienaar, A. (2000). South African Police Service: Child Protection Unit. CARSA, 1(1), 19-24.         [ Links ]

Plummer, C. A. (2006). The discovery process: What mothers see and do in gaining awareness of the sexual abuse of their children. Child Abuse & Neglect, 30, 1227-1237.         [ Links ]

Richter, L. M., & Dawes, A. R. L. (2008). Child abuse in South Africa: Rights and wrongs. Child Abuse Review, 17(2), 79-93.         [ Links ]

Sadock, B. J. & Sadock, V. A. (2003). Kaplan and Sadock's Synopsis of psychiatry (9^th ed). Philadelphia: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins.         [ Links ]

Sanders, C. M. (1999). Grief. The mourning after. New York: John Wiley.         [ Links ]

Sanderson, C. (2006). Counselling adult survivors of child sexual abuse. London: Jessica Kingsley.         [ Links ]

Scheutze, P., & Eiden, R. D. (2005). The relationship between sexual abuse during childhood and parenting outcomes: Modelling direct and indirect pathways. Child Abuse & Neglect, 29, 645-659.         [ Links ]

South African Police Service. (2007). Annual report of the South African Police Service for 2006/2007. Retrieved from http://www.saps.gov.za/saps_profile/strategic_framework/annual_report/ar_archive.htm        [ Links ]

Stallar, K. M., & Nelson-Gardell, D. (2005). "A burden in your heart": Lessons of disclosure from female preadolescent survivors of sexual abuse. Child Abuse & Neglect, 29, 1415-1432.         [ Links ]

Stitt, S., & Gibbs, D. (2007). Non-offending mothers of sexually abused children: The hidden victims. Institute of Technology Blanchardstown Journal, 15, 13-37.         [ Links ]

Tardiff, M., Auclair, N., Jacob, M., & Carpentier, J. (2005). Sexual abuse perpetrated by adult and juvenile females: An ultimate attempt to resolve a conflict associated with maternal identity. Child Abuse & Neglect, 29, 153-167.         [ Links ]

Tedeschi, R. G., & Calhoun, L. G. (2004). Helping bereaved parents. A clinician's guide. New York: Brunner-Routledge.         [ Links ]

Ullman, S. E. (2007). Relationship to perpetrator, disclosure, social reactions and PTSD symptoms in child sexual abuse survivors. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 16(1), 19-36.         [ Links ]

Van Manen, M (1990). Researching lived experiences: Human science for an action sensitive pedagogy. New York: State University of New York Press.         [ Links ]

Willig, C. (2008). Introducing qualitative research in psychology (2^nd ed.). Berkshire: Open University Press.         [ Links ]

Willingham, E. U. (2007). Maternal responses to child sexual abuse. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Georgia State University, Atlanta, United States of America.         [ Links ]