Causes of secondary victimization of child sexual abuse victims

Abstract

Child sexual abuse is a widely known phenomenon which occurs globally. Professionals from different disciplines (forensic- and child protection social workers, police officers within the Family violence, Child protection and Sexual offences unit within the South African Police Department, medical personnel, teachers, court personnel- prosecutors who prosecutes cases of child sexual abuse) come into contact with victims of child sexual abuse and some of these professions are expected to render appropriate services to such victims and refrain from causing any further possible harm to such victims. This article focuses on the causes of secondary victimisation of child sexual abuse victims and views of professionals in minimising such causes. The rationale of the study was to explore and identify the causes of secondary victimisation of victims of child sexual abuse within this process. It was further to gain knowledge about the applied process of service delivery to such victims. The aim of the study was to gain insight from professionals in three different disciplines regarding the process of and service delivery to child sexual abuse victims in order to establish the causes of secondary victimisation of child sexual abuse victims. A qualitative research approach was used to gain insight from participants into their views concerning the research topic.