Impact of child sexual abuse on mothers of sexually abused children : implications for intervention

Abstract

The present study examined the experiences of mothers of sexually abused children following the discovery that their children have been sexually abused. The focus was on the mother's reactions to the abuse and the impact of their children's ordeal on the mother's general functioning. Further attention was placed on the mothers perception of themselves as support resources and their view on how they can be empowered to be able to help their children. A sample of six mothers whose sexually abused children were once clients at the Mamelodi Child and Family Welfare Society took part in the study. For the period of two months, individual semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect data on the experiences of the participants following the discovery of their children's sexual abuse. The most important findings of the study were that mothers in this study reacted differently to their children's abuse, with feelings and actions ranging from confusion, anger and exaggerated ambivalence. However, they were concerned for their children's safety, supported their children and took protective action to stop the abuse. This included taking the child to the doctor, confronting the perpetrator and laying charges against the perpetrator. Therefore, the outcome of this study challenges the notion about mothers colluding with the abuse. The impact of the abuse was also found to be profound in these mothers and most experienced psychological disturbances like sleep dysfunction, depression and sexual dysfunctions. Mother's common needs in terms of how they would like to be empowered centred around the need for individual counselling programs that can be made available and accessible to them. A need for support from their partners and family members was also expressed. Overall, these mothers showed the ability to be supportive towards their children, thus becoming an important source in the treatment and recovery of their children sexual abuse. If helping professionals are going to empower mothers and equipping them with effective skills for coping, dealing with the abuse and supporting their children, group work with these mothers would seem to be an appropriate strategy for intervention. This could be used in helping mothers to make sense of and manage their experiences of their children's sexual abuse.