The current study follows the principles of a child-centered perspective and aims to understand the experiences in the aftermath of disclosure from the child's point of view. Step one of the analysis involved familiarizing and delving into the data (Terre Blanche et al., 2006).
Intrapersonal levels of influence 38
The rape hurt me the most 38
In this study, the perpetrator of the rape was mostly known to the child (90%), either a family member (30%) or an acquaintance (60%). When the origin of a child's trauma is within the family, the child experiences a “crisis of loyalty” (Summit, 1983). Being raped by someone they know complicates a child's experience of being raped by adding a harmful dimension of deception.
Such feelings appeared repeatedly in the responses of children talking about how they were raped. Some of the children explained how they did not expect to be hurt and had felt safe, rather than dangerous, in the presence of the perpetrator before being raped. She [the child's friend] didn't think he could do anything to hurt me.
![Figure 1: It is the fact that I was raped [that was most upsetting] (age 7).](https://thumb-ap.123doks.com/thumbv2/pubpdfnet/10637341.0/39.918.209.720.190.890/figure-1-fact-i-raped-upsetting-age-7.webp)
Familial and community reactions can help or harm 41
At home, they didn't understand what happened and said that I shouldn't talk to anyone because I was sent. Because the family is so often closely related to the community of which it is a part, the reactions of community members to a child's disclosure can play just as important a role as the reactions of immediate and extended family members. Children indicated the important role that community members played in their lives after disclosure.
Some children spoke positively about their communities and perceived the community as an additional means of support. One child said that he did not disclose his rape to those in the neighborhood because they were known to gossip. Other harmful experiences include neighbors turning away from the child when they hear about the rape, as well as turning the child into an object of ridicule.
My mother felt bad 43
Thus, the findings of the analysis suggest that children feel worse and express more negative feelings when they have witnessed the emotional separation of their mothers or significant others. Thus, these interpersonal reactions of others can be seen to contribute to children's traumatic experiences following disclosure. Moreover, the separation of the mother, which is so clearly visible in many of the children's responses, is related to the experience of interrupted routine in the child's life.
Thus, in addition to the unnaturalness of the rape itself, the child is forced to face the unnatural unfolding of everyday life. My father was also crying and my mother didn't go to work and she looked like she was thinking most of the time... I was sad and still am sad (14 years old). Physically absent parents cannot provide the means to contain the emotions and negative experiences of the child.
Institutional levels of influence 49
Institutional care can be helpful or harmful 49
It is the hospital where I feel I was helped, because they checked us and gave us medicine, and we could go to the police (12 years). The children's experiences in their interactions with police were also especially helpful. Children seemed to believe that the police were helpful because they had gone after the perpetrators and arrested them.
There was also evidence that retelling their story of rape, required for the police to give a statement, was more therapeutic than distressing. Thus, this child's intrapersonal belief of the role of the police to help her in her time of need was not fulfilled. Although she admits that she received help at the police station, the help was delayed rather than immediate, as she expected.
Fear of re-victimization 52
You see you didn't tell us... what saddened me was that they let the boy go without informing my mother. This child (Figure 6), after initially drawing the orange outline of the perpetrator, later added black lines across the body. He said he no longer works where he was, he works somewhere else.
My mother tracked the case and she was told that the case was closed (17 years). One child clearly expressed that although she had believed that the police would find and arrest her perpetrator, she did not find much comfort in this belief, knowing that it would not be long before he was released. But at other times when I think to myself I feel like even if they arrested him it doesn't matter because he did the damage and he will get out of jail and he will do this again (14 years) .
Macrosystemic levels of influence 55
Loss of virginity 55
Silence 56
While some children seemed to have no problem articulating their narratives in long and detailed responses to the researchers' questions, others had considerable difficulty. Non-responses or answers with the phrase "I don't know" or "I don't remember" were also common. Although the older children appeared to be more willing and able to speak, two in particular, aged 14 and 16, were found to respond in very limited ways with short answers to the researchers' questions.
One of these children (age 16) appeared to deny that he had actually been raped, often responding to questions with the phrases "nothing happened" or "there was nothing". One child explained how her aunt, after disclosing the rape to her aunt, responded by not saying anything. Child: No one, because my grandfather and my relatives said that I am too young to talk about such things.
Introduction 58
Intrapersonal level 58
However, it is not difficult to understand how the underdeveloped biological structure of the child's body can be damaged by sexual acts. Although there appears to be a dearth of literature regarding the immediate physical pain and aftermath felt by the child who has been sexually abused, current research suggests that such pain, evident in the child's mind, contributes to their harmful experience. Another important intrapersonal influence that emerged from the current study focused on the way the child viewed the perpetrator before being abused.
In fact betrayal is accepted by Finkelhor and Browne (1985) as one of the essential psychological impacts of sexual abuse on the child. Weber (n.d) describes care work as a process by which the caregiver increases access to the child and. The perpetrator engages the child, gains the child's trust, manipulates the child, and breaks down the child's defenses by playing the role of a friend or trusted adult.
Interpersonal level 61
Certain factors in a child's life increase or decrease the amount of distress they feel after being sexually abused. However, a child is more likely to experience negative affect and distress if their parents are negatively affected and distressed (Dominques, Nelke & Perry, 2002). A child's response to a traumatic event (such as rape) is likely to mimic the parent's response.
Where the parent's response is disorganized, the child's response is also likely to be disorganized (Browne & Finkelhor, 1986). While parents may be available to the child, they may not provide the necessary control over the child's emotions. A child's adjustment after disclosure is greatly influenced by the reactions of those to whom the child discloses.
Institutional level 65
This shows the important role played by psychologists and counselors in the life of the sexually abused child. Similarly, children in this sample tended to speak positively about their experiences with the police after disclosure. After discovery, children are involved in processes in which they would not otherwise be involved.
Dominques, Nelke and Perry (2002) note the importance of preparing the child for the necessary processes in the wake of the disclosure. In the current study, the majority of rapes occurred in the perpetrator's home (45%), the victim's home (30%), or in the neighborhood (10%). Thus, the fear of re-victimization that children feel in the wake of disclosure can be seen as a result of the criminal justice system not being able to afford the appropriate punishment for perpetrators of CSA.
Macrosystemic level 68
Religious or cultural taboos may actually increase a child's sense of stigmatization (Finkelhor & Browne, 1985). This again points to the need for perspectives that focus on experiences from the child's point of view. The difficulty children have in speaking about their experiences of sexual abuse is strongly illustrated in the current research.
Disclosure becomes more difficult and ambivalent when the child is close to the perpetrator and there is a strong bond (albeit pathological) that forces the child to make the often-required choice between continued victimization and a broken family bond (Sauzier, 1989). This is important in the current study, where in the vast majority (90%) of cases, the perpetrator was known to the child. This shows the increased anxiety children experience when talking about their experiences of sexual abuse.
Limitations 72
Influences from society, culture and religion often do not allow free dialogue on the subject of sex and sexuality. Children are understandably reluctant to say what adults, whether parents, teachers or therapists, are reluctant to hear” (Sauzier, 1989, p. 455). Children are therefore often reluctant to seek help by purposefully telling others about their abuse.
The child is likely to feel less comfortable talking about their experiences the more unnatural the experiences feel. This lapse of time can have an impact on the child's memory and affect the way the child recalls their experience of disclosure. Many children, even though they are raped, do not report their rape and often, even when they are reported, many do not receive the necessary counseling services.
Conclusions and implications 73
The findings of the current study suggest that the harmful experience of sexual abuse is more intense for a child whose parents or caregivers react too emotionally. Cultural and religious influences on maternal response to intrafamilial child sexual abuse: Exploring new territory for research and treatment. Non-perpetrator parents' responses to their children's sexual abuse: A review of the literature.
Disclosure, reactions, and social support: Findings from a sample of adult victims of child sexual abuse. Risk factors and child sexual abuse among secondary school students in the Northern Province (South Africa). Dimensions of sexual abuse of children before the age of 15 in three Central American countries: Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala.
