NEWS RELEASE
August 5 2002
UniSA research to underpin better services
for victims of child sex abuse
It
should be a safe haven but as international research reveals, it is in the
bosom of the family that many children suffer sexual abuse and that abuse
often has long-term impacts on its victims.
UniSA’s
Mary Freer from the Research and Education Unit into Gendered Violence at
Magill campus, says it has been reported that up to 33 per cent of women
and 20 to 40 per cent of men have suffered some form of sexual abuse in
their histories.
“Those
figures relate to abuse as it is perceived and experienced by the victims
but even when we narrow it down to more clinical definitions of child
sexual abuse, in industrialised counties it has been found that between
seven and 10 per cent of male and female children have experienced
prolonged sexual abuse,” Freer says.
“United
States research uncovers one of the most chilling factors – that 54
percent of abusers are blood relatives and that fathers or father figures
are the most likely abusers. We have no reason to believe the case would
be any different in Australia.”
Freer
is about to begin important research evaluating the quality and
availability of services to women who have experienced child sexual abuse.
She is looking for women who have been sexually abused in childhood who
can share their experiences of telling others about the abuse and the sort
of support services they accessed.
“We
know some important things about female victims of sexual abuse – they
come from all socio-economic groups and all cultures; sexual abuse is most
likely to occur in families where men control the balance of power and
women are devalued; and female victims usually suffer the abuse in silence
because of threats, shame or even family loyalty,” Freer says.
“We
also know that disclosure is one of the key steps in uncovering child
sexual abuse and starting on the road to recovery.
“People
who abuse children employ a range of techniques to keep children silent
including threats of violence, blaming the victim for the abuse, making
out that the behaviour is normal or actually providing rewards for
silence.
“Beyond
the physical trauma of abuse there are often complex psychological scars.
“It
is not uncommon to hear of women who finally reveal their experiences when
they are in their 30s, 40s or 60s, having suffered silently for years.”
Ms
Freer said the research project would use the women’s experiences to
shed light on how to improve services to victims, improve community
response to disclosures of child sexual abuse and support and counselling
for victims.
She
said all research was undertaken on a strictly confidential basis so
participants’ privacy was respected.
Anyone
wanting to contribute to the research by taking part in the study can
contact the research and Education Unit on Gendered Violence on (08) 8302
4590 from nine to five weekdays.
Media
contact: Michèle Nardelli (08) 8302 0966 or 041 8823673
email: michele.nardelli@unisa.edu.au
