ABSTRACT
There are two key findings from previous research on mothers’ responses to the sexual abuse of their children. First, there is evidence that they experience trauma themselves, and their reactions and responses have been likened to the process of bereavement (Myer, 1984), the aftermath of rape (de Jong, 1988) or of child sexual abuse itself (Dempster, 1989; Hubbard, 1989). Since women's own experience of sexual violence has been conceptualised as one of loss (Hopkins and Thompson, 1984; Kelly, 1988a), these are not incompatible findings. Second, there are studies which show that the support of mothers is a highly significant factor – if not the most significant factor – affecting the child's healing (Wyatt and Mickey, 1987; Conte and Berliner, 1988; Everson et al., 1989) and that the absence of support from the mother has significantly detrimental effects (Scott and Flowers, 1988).
