The idealized cultural identities model on help-seeking and child sexual abuse: a conceptual model for contextualizing perceptions and experiences of South Asian Americans

In this paper, we propose an interdisciplinary framework to study perceptions of child sexual abuse and help-seeking among South Asians living in the United States. We integrate research on social marginality, intersectionality, and cultural psychology to understand how marginalized social experience accentuates South Asian immigrants' desire to construct a positive self-identity. Using model minority ideology as an example of such a construction, we highlight its role in silencing the topic of child sexual abuse within this immigrant community as well as its impact on attitudes towards professional mental health services. We contend that our framework, the idealized cultural identities model on help-seeking and child sexual abuse, provides a unique analytical model for clinicians and researchers to understand how South Asian Americans process, experience, and react to child sexual abuse.     

Parenting and the process of migration: possibilities within South Asian families

The migration experience creates a unique set of challenges for families, which can result in intergenerational conflict and create the conditions for abuse or neglect. Alternatively, families can cope with these challenges in creative and seemingly contradictory ways, thus strengthening family relationships. This article introduces the process of migration as a theoretical framework to use in understanding the complexity of the migration experience as well as the wide range of coping responses within families. The process was developed as a theoretical tool in an ethnographic study of first- and second-generation South Asian women in the United States; the study's findings are used to illustrate the application of the process to South Asian parenting experiences and show how the process of migration-where families adjust to a different set of structural conditions, ideologies, cultural norms, and social systems-shapes parenting and family life.     

“Who Can You Tell?” Features of Arab Culture That Influence Conceptualization and Treatment of Childhood Sexual Abuse

The literature on child sexual abuse reflects growing recognition of the manner in which culture impacts the conceptualization, experience, and treatment of such cases. Despite heightened visibility of Arab Americans within the United States, population due to recent media attention, little empirical research exists on the occurrence of child sexual abuse within this population. Arab culture is often characterized by an emphasis on collectivism and familial obligations, and such features may prove to either facilitate or impede assessment and treatment of child sexual abuse, depending on how they are manifested. In terms of reporting child sexual abuse, cultural values pertaining to shame and honor as well as the stigma attached to mental health problems may influence the response to abuse. As such, enhancing the cultural competence of the therapist is key to facilitating effective cultural practice. Empirical research is required to investigate and substantiate these concepts as they relate to child sexual abuse in Arab-American populations.     

Breaking the Silence of Child Sexual Abuse in the Caribbean: A Community-Based Action Research Intervention Model

In Trinidad and Tobago, little data exists on child sexual abuse, although there are many anecdotal reports of high prevalence. The Breaking the Silence Gender and Community Empowerment Model is a multidisciplinary intervention to prevent and respond to child sexual abuse in Trinidad and Tobago. It is an innovative, gender-sensitive intervention that uses a community based action research methodology anchored in a national framework. Preliminary evaluation of the Breaking the Silence model shows increased knowledge of child sexual abuse, increased willingness to discuss child sexual abuse, and an impact that goes beyond the target communities. This model can be replicated in communities to prevent and respond to child sexual abuse and adapted to address other sensitive social issues in the Caribbean.     

Complexity of domestic violence in a South Asian context in Hong Kong: cultural and structural impact

With the dearth of empirical research related to the experiences of domestic violence among South Asian communities in Hong Kong, this study engages with migrant South Asian women’s subjective understanding and experience of domestic violence. Presenting women’s narratives of their experiences with domestic violence allow for a better understanding of the complexities that inform and shape women’s experiences and decision-making in the face of partner violence. This empirical study investigated South Asian women’s experience of domestic violence in the context of Hong Kong through in-depth interviews with 14 South Asian women who had experienced abuse and 6 helping professionals from 4 social service agencies. Analysis of the data revealed that the nature and context of abuse posed as a barrier in their help seeking. The findings highlight the importance of understanding the influence of cultural and structural conditions and the difficulties and complexities women face that increases women’s vulnerability to abuse. This paper offers an analysis of how structures thereby come to impact on women’s distress and vulnerability. The study also highlights the need for inclusive service provision for minority ethnic women experiencing domestic violence.     

A Review of Child Sexual Abuse: Impact,Risk, and Resilience in the Context of Culture

Child sexual abuse is a problem with both a national and worldwide prevalence. In this review, the authors note that while empirical research has clearly shown the negative impact of child sexual abuse on social, psychological, and sexual functioning later in life, it has also been reported that some individuals remain asymptomatic despite a history of experiencing child sexual abuse. This implies that negative outcomes later in life are not inevitable and illustrates the critical need to elucidate how resilience may moderate the negative impacts of child sexual abuse. In addition to emphasising the role of resilience, this review also underscores the important role that cultural context plays in understanding child sexual abuse, as there are known risk factors and protective factors specific to different cultures. Similarly, one’s culture may also influence whether abuse is reported and addressed, and the topic is given special attention in this paper because it is not widely discussed within the existing literature. The impact of child sexual abuse on mental health, sexual health, and social functioning is also discussed.     

Treatment Implications Arising From a Qualitative Analysis of Letters Written by the Nonoffending Partners of Men Who Have Perpetrated Child Sexual Abuse

There is a dearth of current empirical research exploring the experiences of nonoffending partners, or women whose partners have perpetrated child sexual abuse. Existing literature is dated and focuses disproportionately on intrafamilial abuse. This research explores how nonoffending partners construct and understand their experiences using thematic analysis within a social constructionist framework. Findings indicate that discovery of a partner's sexual offending is a profoundly distressing experience. It can inhibit a woman's ability to process the broader implications of her partner's behavior, including issues of risk, the impact on the victim, and the additional protective responsibilities she must adopt in the future. Implications for future research and clinical practice are discussed.     

‘We have very different positions on some issues’: how child welfare workers in Norway and England bridge cultural differences when communicating with ethnic minority families

This article compares how child welfare workers in Norway and England experience and cope with communication problems resulting from cultural differences. This study is based on in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 53 front-line child welfare workers and draws on social theories that understand communication as a social act. We show cross-country variations in child welfare workers' perceptions of the communicative problems and coping mechanisms. In Norway, social workers think that minority parents' perceptions on children's needs and child-rearing and parents' lack of understanding of the child welfare system were challenging. Social workers in England perceive the physical abuse of minority children as problematic. They are also concerned about carers' fears of social workers forcing majority cultural values on minority families. While social workers in both countries spend more time with minority families, their approaches dealing with communication challenges correspond to their different problem perceptions. Social workers in Norway act as cultural instructors: they focus on the needs of the minority child and instruct parents about Norwegian values and the Norwegian welfare system. Social workers in England are cultural learners: they focus on practising in anti-oppressive ways, while protecting ethnic minority children from physical abuse. Both approaches avoid going into real communication about perceived problems and what a child might need. We also discuss the implications of these findings on social work practice.     

The treatment needs of victims/survivors of child sexual abuse (CSA) from ethnic minority communities: A literature review and suggestions for practice

One significant finding from an exhaustive literature review on child sexual abuse (CSA) and ethnic minority communities is that victims appear to be at higher risk for suicidality. This may be due to the many barriers to professional help-seeking in this group, most commonly associated with protecting the family's name. This makes their treatment needs particularly critical, after the barriers have finally been crossed. Of all their treatment needs, cultural competency is identified as essential. It asks for non-racist attitudes and practice, self-reflection and awareness, a ‘multicultural framework’ which recognises differences in power between mainstream and minority groups and respects the right to cultural differences, the provision of an interpreter trained in matters to do with sexual assault, choice about having an ethnically matched or non-matched service provider (and thus employment of workers from diverse backgrounds), the routine provision of training in cultural competency by management in service organisations, and mandatory data collection on variables related to ethnicity. A ‘multicultural framework’ is seen to be the most important of these elements, else it could lead to the vilification of collectivist and patriarchal cultures (which ethnic minority communities tend to be), threatening cultural safety. This adds trauma to the victim who has already suffered an abuse of power, and further alienates clients in critical need of clinical intervention.     

Caregiver–Youth Communication about Sex in South Africa: The Role of Maternal Child Sexual Abuse History

Much of the research on child sexual abuse focuses on negative outcomes. This brief report explores a potentially protective parenting behavior among black South African female caregivers with and without a child sexual abuse history. Using cross-sectional baseline data, we hypothesized that caregiver child sexual abuse history would be positively associated with caregiver–youth sex communication and this relationship would be strongest for girls. Youth whose caregiver experienced child sexual abuse were more likely to report communicating with their caregiver about sex than youth whose caregivers did not experience child sexual abuse; however, this relation did not hold for caregiver reported communication. Child sexual abuse survivors’ ability and decision to discuss sex with their youth has the potential to protect youth from sexual risk and demonstrates resilience among a group rarely acknowledged for positive parenting practices.     

News coverage of child sexual abuse and prevention, 2007-2009

News media coverage of child sexual abuse can help policymakers and the public understand what must be done to prevent future abuse, but coverage tends to focus on extreme cases. This article presents an analysis of newspaper coverage from 2007 to 2009 to describe how the daily news presents and frames day-to-day stories about child sexual abuse. When child sexual abuse receives news attention, the stories focus primarily on the criminal justice details of a specific incident rather than contextual information about causes of and solutions to child sexual abuse, and prevention is rarely addressed. We offer suggestions for strategies that advocates can use to help reporters improve news coverage so that it better contextualizes child sexual abuse and links it to prevention policies.     

Sexual Risk‐Taking Among Recently Emancipated Female Foster Youth: Sexual Trauma and Failed Family Reunification Experiences

Foster youth evidence shows elevated rates of risk behaviors, including sexual risk‐taking (e.g., unprotected sex). Some studies have identified child maltreatment, particularly sexual abuse, as a risk for later sexual risk‐taking, but none have examined how child welfare placement experiences relate to youth's sexual risk‐taking. This study investigated relations among child maltreatment, child welfare placements, and sexual risk‐taking among 114 recently emancipated female foster youth. Sexual abuse and failed reunifications with parents were associated with greater sexual risk‐taking. Moreover, dissociative symptoms exacerbated the relation between sexual abuse and sexual risk‐taking. These findings highlight the need for greater consideration of risks associated with emancipated youth's sexual risk‐taking and for more research to understand how youth experience unsuccessful family reunifications.     

Forensic, cultural, and systems issues in child sexual abuse cases--part 2: research and practitioner issues

This article introduces the second issue of the special double issue focusing on forensic, cultural, and systems issues in child sexual abuse cases. We briefly review the articles, which include a discussion of child sexual abuse myths, an empirical analysis of extended child sexual abuse evaluations, an article on the role of the medical provider in child sexual abuse evaluations, a study of satisfaction levels with multidisciplinary teams in child advocacy centers, and a commentary advocating for the credentialing of forensic interviewers. We call for further empirical examination of media related to child sexual abuse risk, research on appropriate models for extended sexual abuse interviews and evaluations, and optimal practices relevant to each member of multidisciplinary teams in a child advocacy center.     

“She Got Spoilt”: Perceptions of Victims of Child Sexual Abuse in Ghana

ABSTRACT

International research has commented on social stigma as a key reason for nondisclosure of child sexual abuse. However, the actual components of this social stigma frequently remain unexplored. The present study deals with perceptions of consequences of child sexual abuse among professionals and laypeople in Ghana (N = 44), employing a bystander perspective. As a qualitative study using a grounded theory framework, it considers these consequences in light of their underlying beliefs about child and adolescent development, particularly in relation to gender-based expectations placed on girls and boys. Consequences of child sexual abuse could be divided into sexual health consequences, beliefs about “destroyed innocence” and beliefs about a “destroyed future,” which were strongly related to the sexual nature of the violence perpetrated. These perceived consequences of child sexual abuse hold implications for what surviving child sexual abuse means on a social level. Implications for practice are discussed on the basis of the data analysis.     

“A Very Steep Climb”: Therapists’ Perspectives on Barriers to Disclosure of Child Sexual Abuse Experiences for Men

ABSTRACT

Recent studies indicate that men experience unique barriers to disclosure of child sexual abuse. Blind spots held by mental health providers and social service agencies may inadvertently help produce and sustain these barriers. However, therapists who specialize in treating this population may also hold important insights into the barriers clients face. Because delayed and nondisclosure of child sexual abuse have been associated with negative mental health outcomes for adult survivors, understanding these barriers is critical to improve clinical practice and facilitate help-seeking. Using conventional content analysis, this study examined the perceptions of nine therapists who specialize in the treatment of men who were sexually abused in childhood, many of whom are considered pioneers in the field. Analyses identified nine types of barriers, which were organized into three categories: intrapersonal experience (difficult feelings, lack of language, and self-engagement), social milieu (internalized social stigma, negative responses, social loss or judgment, and masculine identity dissonance), and health care environment (structural barriers, relational challenges with therapists, and unhelpful therapeutic strategies). Implications for future research, clinical training, and clinical practice are discussed.     

Pornography and the Organization of Intrafamilial and Extrafamilial Child Sexual Abuse: Developing a Conceptual Model

This paper uses a case study (the experience of having been sexually abused as a child) and a review of the relevant literature as the basis for developing a conceptual model of the relationship between intrafamilial and extrafamilial child sexual abuse and child sexual exploitation, and the role of adult and child pornography in it. The paper illustrates some of the characteristics and effects of pornography and child sexual abuse including: gender; intra- and intergenerational patterns of victimization; coercion and compliance; the sexualization of the child; pornography and prostitution; and the function of incest as a form of pimping for the perpetrator and as grooming for extrafamilial abuse. It also illustrates the way in which pornography is a part of all forms of intrafamilial and extrafamilial abuse and is itself a form of organized abuse. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Forensic, cultural, and systems issues in child sexual abuse cases--part 1: an introduction

This article introduces the first in a two-part special issue focusing on forensic, cultural, and systems issues in child sexual abuse cases. The five articles contained in this issue include a diversity of perspectives on approaches to extended interviews and evaluations of child sexual abuse suspicions, an exploration of the ways culture affects child sexual abuse disclosure and reporting, considerations relevant to the management of a child's mental health needs while forensic process are ongoing, and the use of anatomical dolls in forensic interviews. We call for attention to several practice areas, including (a) prioritizing a child's mental health needs while minimizing disruption of forensic processes, (b) developing best practices and models of child sexual abuse assessment and evaluation when a one-session forensic interview is insufficient, (c) appropriately evaluating child sexual abuse concerns when they occur without a disclosure and/or in children with communication limitations, and (d) the integration of cultural sensitivity into interviews and evaluations.     

Cultural and religious influences in maternal response to intrafamilial child sexual abuse:charting new territory for research and treatment

The role of culture when providing services for families in the wake of child sexual abuse disclosure is a charged issue although surprisingly little attention has been given in the research literature to this. This article reports the findings of a grounded theory study exploring facets of maternal response, and aspects of more and less supportive responses, to children who were sexually abused by the mother's intimate partner. Ten mothers, chosen on the basis of theoretical sampling, provided information through in-depth interviews to understand how they responded emotionally and behaviourally to their child's disclosure. As well, three service providers were interviewed as key informants. The research revealed cultural and religious influences as affecting how mothers made meaning of the sexual abuse and the actions they took. Mothers from cultural backgrounds that adhere to rigid patriarchal norms identified themes of intense value conflicts regarding family preservation, loyalty binds between the perpetrating partner and child victim, and anxieties around being alienated from their extended family and ethnic community. They also reported that their cultural belief systems were not well understood by service providers. In parallel, helping professionals identified cultural issues as presenting barriers for engaging with some clients. Practice implications and research directions are discussed.     

Disclosures of Sexual Abuse by Puerto Rican Children

Psychotherapists who have experience working with Puerto Ricans on issues of child sexual abuse, and Puerto Rican women who were abused sexually as children were interviewed in this exploratory study about disclosure. Certain cultural norms and factors related to Puerto Ricans' status as an oppressed minority in the United States were identified as making the disclosure of sexual abuse especially difficult for Puerto Rican children.     

Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse within the Family System: Guidelines for an Educational Social Group Work Program

Children have the right to be brought up in safe environments. However, this right is often infringed by people who are supposed to provide love, care, and protection to children. These people can include biological fathers, step-fathers, brothers, cousins, aunts, mothers, and uncles. Violation of children takes place in a variety of ways, however, for the purpose of this paper, the focus is on child sexual abuse within the family system. A literature review is adopted as the methodology for the discussions in this paper. The purpose of this paper is firstly to demonstrate that child sexual abuse happens within the family system in South Africa, and secondly, to argue that the prevention of child sexual abuse should start within the family system and this can be achieved by conducting educational social group work sessions on child sexual abuse with the family members.