Child sexual abuse: the perception of mothers concerning their daughters' sexual abuse

Abstract

Domestic violence affects all members in a family and children are considered the main victims. This qualitative study aimed to grasp the perception of mothers whose daughters were sexually abused. Data were collected between February and March 2007 in a governmental facility in Fortaleza-CE, Brazil through semi-structured interviews with ten mothers of sexually abused children. Data were submitted to the Collective Subject Discourse Technique from which three themes emerged: Guilt is rooted in the motherhood myth, unhealable pain and despair as a consequence of a feeling of powerlessness. Results evidenced that mothers experience a range of feelings in which pain, revulsion and powerlessness are highlighted. Society should be engaged in the subject and interested in understanding violence, its magnitude and the whole affected chain, otherwise, only good intentions will remain, lost in the void from the lack of action.