Media Release
October 3 2006
Survivors of sexual abuse – a long term view of intimacy
How do you help a person who, years after the event, is suffering from their experience of sexual abuse as a child?
While there has been a great deal of research into what supports help survivors in the short term, according to UniSA PhD researcher Kristina Birchmore, health professionals need to know more about the long term effects of child sexual abuse if they are to provide quality care and support.
Birchmore is undertaking a study that hopes to uncover more about the support needs of survivors of child sexual abuse in the longer term, well past the immediate trauma.
“From the research that has been done we know that one in three women report some form of unwanted sexual event in their childhood and there are adverse long term effects for women,” Birchmore says.
“What is less well known and researched is how early sexual abuse continues to impact on adult survivors. It is clear that there are effects but we don’t have enough qualitative data around the impact of past events on adult sexual and intimate relationships.”
Birchmore says she is hoping to research women’s subjective experience of the ways in which events in childhood continue to influence their lives as adults.
She would like to conduct hour-long interviews with women over 18 years who have survived sexual abuse as a child. All enquires will be confidential as will the information gathered.
“I expect the research will be of benefit to women survivors of sexual abuse who seek treatment or support for problems they are having with sexual intimacy as an adult,” Birchmore said.
“The research will inform allied health professionals by contributing more to the body of knowledge of the real experience of women survivors of sexual abuse - its impact on their ability to relate to their partners, to engage in sexual relationships and the whole gamut of issues they confront.”
Anyone wanting to take part in the study can contact Birchmore on
(08) 8302 4053 to book an appointment for a confidential interview
session.
Media contact
- Michèle Nardelli office (08) 8302 0966 mobile 0418 823 673 email michele.nardelli@unisa.edu.au