Gender Differences in the Context and Consequences of Child Sexual Abuse

Cashmore, Judy; Shackel, Rita

doi:10.1080/10345329.2014.12036008

Cited by 39 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 129 publications

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“… This paper uses the term victim when referring to the childhood experience of sexual abuse and ‘survivor’ when referring to the adult who has experienced sexual abuse as a child. This is consistent with the use of these terms by Cashmore & Shackel () and the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse (2014). However, when discussing individual research studies, the terminology of that research is adhered to.…”

supporting

confidence: 85%

“…Exposure to Childhood Sexual Abuse (CSA) results in an increased risk of a range of biopsychosocial difficulties across the life course (Cutajar et al, ; Salter, ). While there is considerable variation in the experience of effects of CSA (Walsh, Fortier, & DiLillo, ), the severity, nature, duration and age of the child at commencement of abuse, all contribute to the nature and extent of effects (Breckenridge & Salter, ; Cashmore & Shackel, ). The adverse effects of CSA across the life course are well established.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A scoping review of adult survivors’ experiences of shame following sexual abuse in childhood

MacGinley

Breckenridge

Mowll

2019

Health Soc Care Community

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Shame following childhood sexual abuse (CSA) can be intensely painful and destructive to one's sense of self and place in the world. Organised around an internalised core belief of worthlessness, extreme shame presents as a major therapeutic challenge in therapy with many CSA survivors. A range of clinical and empirical literature, alongside recounts of survivors lived experience, shows that shame is an effect of CSA for many survivors. Yet research has rarely focused specifically on survivors’ qualitative or lived experiences of shame. This article reports the results of a scoping review of the empirical research investigating adult survivors’ experiences of shame following sexual abuse in their childhood. Conducted in March 2018, the search strategy involved on‐line searches of English language, peer review and select grey literature repositories for articles published up to the end of 2017. Of the 28 peer reviewed studies included in the review, only three studies specifically investigate adult survivors lived experiences of shame. The synthesised findings from the studies identify five themes demonstrating the pervasive and detrimental influence of shame following CSA: (1) Psychological effects and trauma symptoms; (2) Relationships and social connections and disconnections; (3) Disclosure; (4) Self concept; and, (5) The process of recovery. These findings resonate with conceptual literature and broader research on the influence of shame following violence and highlight areas for future research and clinical practice. This scoping review identifies three key gaps: a need for further research across specific populations and groups; research evaluating therapeutic interventions responding to shame; and research that specifically investigates adult survivors’ lived experiences of shame following CSA.

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supporting

confidence: 85%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A scoping review of adult survivors’ experiences of shame following sexual abuse in childhood

MacGinley

Breckenridge

Mowll

2019

Health Soc Care Community

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“…However, many children encountered sexual assault without rape, the impact of which should not be underestimated given the potential lifetime consequences for mental health [32,41,42]. Impacts of child sexual abuse have been showed to potentially differ from those experienced by girls particularly in relation to gender identity issues [43].…”

Section: Assaults and Perpetrator Characteristics In Children And Adomentioning

confidence: 99%

Assault and care characteristics of victims of sexual violence in eleven Médecins Sans Frontières programs in Africa. What about men and boys?

Broban

Bergh

Russell³

et al. 2020

PLoS ONE

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Background Often neglected, male-directed sexual violence (SV) has recently gained recognition as a significant issue. However, documentation of male SV patients, assaults and characteristics of presentation for care remains poor. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) systematically documented these in all victims admitted to eleven SV clinics in seven African countries between 2011 and 2017, providing a unique opportunity to describe SV patterns in male cases compared to females, according to age categories and contexts, thereby improving their access to SV care. Methods and findings This was a multi-centric, cross-sectional study using routine program data. The study included 13550 SV cases, including 1009 males (7.5%). Proportions of males varied between programs and contexts, with the highest being recorded in migratory contexts (12.7%). Children (<13yrs) represented 34.3% of males. Different SV patterns appeared between younger and older males; while male children and adolescents were more often assaulted by known civilians, without physical violence, adult males more often endured violent assault, perpetrated by authority figures. Male patients presented more frequently to clinics providing integrated care (medical and psychological) for victims of violence (odds ratio 3.3, 95%CI 2.4-4.6), as compared to other types of clinics where SV disclosure upon admission was necessary. Males, particularly adults, were disproportionately more likely to suffer being compelled to rape (odds ratio 12.9, 95%CI 7.6-21.8).Retention in SV care was similar for males and females. Conclusions Patterns of male-directed SV varied considerably according to contexts and age categories. A key finding was the importance of the clinic setup; integrated medical and SV

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“…A post-structural feminist perspective also enabled attention to both the oppressive aspects of discourses of child sexual abuse and their impact on women's sexual lives, and the scope for resistance and agency on the part of women. As alluded to earlier, understandings of childhood sexual abuse are contested, with many different definitions in the literature (4,23). While positivist, quantitative research requires participants to fit within pre-set definitions of child sexual abuse, in the study reported on here, research participants selfidentified as to whether they considered a past experience to have been sexually abusive.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding the Impact of Child Sexual Abuse on Women’s Sexual Lives: A Discourse Analysis

2020

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This paper reports on a post-structural feminist study that examined how discourses about child sexual abuse frame understandings of the impact of abuse on women's sexual lives. The study considered the overarching question 'What discourses associated with the impact of child sexual abuse on women's sexual lives are reproduced, resisted or invisible in the narratives of women who have been abused and the professionals who work with them?' Discourse generates the experiences that are possible, including what people think and do and their material circumstances. The research method involved three related studies that included a survey and interviews with professionals who work with women who have experienced child sexual abuse, and interviews with women who have histories of child sexual abuse. Thematic and Foucauldian discursive analysis identified powerful, gendered, heteronormative discourses about female sexuality, child sexual abuse and its impact on women's sexual lives. This report will briefly overview previous research in the area, the theoretical approach and research methods employed in the study and outline the three overarching thematic representations in the accounts of the women and the professionals.

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Gender Differences in the Context and Consequences of Child Sexual Abuse

Cited by 39 publications

References 129 publications

A scoping review of adult survivors’ experiences of shame following sexual abuse in childhood

A scoping review of adult survivors’ experiences of shame following sexual abuse in childhood

Assault and care characteristics of victims of sexual violence in eleven Médecins Sans Frontières programs in Africa. What about men and boys?

Understanding the Impact of Child Sexual Abuse on Women’s Sexual Lives: A Discourse Analysis

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