Mothers speak out on the sexual abuse of their children

Abstract

This study is aimed to build a picture of child sexual abuse, in a New Zealand setting, from a mother's perspective upon the discovery that her partner/husband had been sexually abusing their children. Eleven mothers were interviewed, concentrating specifically on the process by which they discovered the sexual abuse, who they discussed it with, and the impact these events had on their lives. My approach was a qualitative one, aimed at providing the opportunity for mothers to speak for themselves, to describe and define in their own words, the consequence and meaning of their situation. The results have particular implications for workers in the sexual abuse area. The interviews showed that mothers often experienced disbelief and blame from people they had contact with in relation to the sexual abuse. This was particularly prevalent in their dealings with the court system. Mothers strongly advocated for many changes in the law and considered training for all professional staff working in the area of sexual abuse, including lawyers and judges, to be essential. The study showed that the effects of sexual abuse not only impacted on mothers lives in the short term, but often had repercussions years after the incident, particularly in terms of managing the reactions and often disturbed behaviour of their children who had been sexually abused. This has considerable implications for services in terms of resources and ongoing support for mothers in this situation.