ABSTRACT
A very young child who has experienced only love and nurturing care from his parents has an innocence and a trust in life that is as deep as the sea. An abuser can approach such a child (and the first approaches are usually made with care) secure in the knowledge that this child has not yet learnt the need for protective barriers. Survivors of long-term sexual abuse describe a process that characteristically involves a slow and gradual entrapment, with ensuing confusion, ‘guilt’ and paralysing fear of exposure, as the child victims are sucked in deeper and deeper.
