Non-offending parents as secondary victims of child sexual assault
Date
2016
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
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Publisher
Trends and Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice
Abstract
Informal support systems
play an important role in assisting primary
victims cope with their experience
post-crime. The experience of primary
victims can have a vicarious impact on
the individuals who comprise these
support systems. This research explores
the impact of child sexual assault on a
sample of 26 non-offending parents, with
a particular focus on examining the link
between a parent’s thoughts and feelings
about the assault and their subsequent
support of, and assistance to, the primary
victim. The results of the qualitative
analysis show parents experienced a wide
range of negative emotional responses to
their child’s victimisation, and these
reactions may have influenced what
support the parent was able to provide. In
particular, parents reported feelings of
anger, sadness and guilt; they became
overprotective and isolated from their
children, partners, family, friends and
community. The implications of these
findings for the treatment and support of
parents of victims of child sexual assault
are also discussed.
Description
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Article
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Keywords
non-offending caregiver, child sexual abuse, secondary traumatic stress, secondary victimisation, vicarious trauma, Australia, International Resources
Citation
Fuller, G. (2016). Non-offending parents as secondary victims of child sexual assault. Trends and Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice, (500), 1.