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context issue is the role of important non-offending family members in the
abuse. While survivors often struggle with their feelings toward the offender,
a potentially potent issue is their feelings toward other family members who were
present when the abuse occurred. As the most frequently described incidents of
abuse involve adult male offenders, often fathers or stepfathers, and female child
victims, the non-offending family member most often addressed in the literature
is the mother.
Historically, mothers have often been 'blamed'
for the abuse that occurs in the family. In both popular and clinical literature
it has been suggested that the cold, sexually unavailable wife drove her husband
to her daughter and at times colluded in the abuse to avoid her own marital, sexual
'responsibilities.' The offender is therefore thought to hold no responsibility
for the abuse. In reaction to this sexist attitude, some counselors have discouraged
survivors from exploring their feelings toward their mothers. Herman for example,
critiqued a treatment program that prohibits 'mother-blaming' by survivors:
Inevitably,
survivors will explore the role of non-offending parents in the abuse and the
counselor may facilitate this exploration. There are several possibilities regarding
the role of non-offending parents: they had no knowledge of the abuse; they suspected
but did not acknowledge the abuse; they knew of the abuse but did not intervene;
or they knew of the abuse and condoned it (Hall and Lloyd, 1989). Although survivors
may never definitely know which role a non-offending parent played, many survivors,
after exploring the possibilities and confronting their own denial and minimization,
usually come to some conclusion about this issue.
Determining
the role of a non-offending parent can be a difficult process. Some survivors
state that it is easier to hate the offender than to be angry at their mother,
whom they may still love and with whom they may have close, current contact. As
one survivor in the incest healing study (Draucker, 1992) stated:
But
my stepfather, I don't care about. I was more hurt by my mom staying with him.
I couldn't care less. I don't care if I ever see him again. I just don't like
him as a person. .. . but my mom hurt me more because I care about her more. Do
you see that?
Therefore, it is important for counselors to
encourage survivors to express their feelings about non-offending parents. These
feelings may range from disappointment that a parent was not strong enough to
recognize the abuse to intense rage because a parent knew of the abuse and either
ignored it or condoned it.
Hall and Lloyd (1989) have also
suggested that it can be helpful if survivors explore the reasons for the actions
of the non-offending parents and place their behavior in the larger context of
the dynamics of the family. Encouraging such an exploration should not imply that
survivors are not entitled to their angry feelings or that they should forgive
the non-offending parent for their actions.
Rather, this process may assist survivors
to make sense of their own experience. For example, it could be helpful for a
'survivor to understand her non-offending mother's family history, which may have
included childhood abuse, and to recognize her mother's conviction that she could
not survive independently from her abusive husband. These factors provide some
explanation for the mother's inactivity and inability to protect her child.
In
some cases, survivors may choose to be seen in counseling with a non-offending
parent. This is usually most successful when survivors have worked through some
basic issues (e.g. denial, minimization) and now desire a better understanding
of the family's issues at the time of the abuse. As with a confrontation with
the offender, joint work with a survivor and a non-offending parent takes preparation
by both parties (exploration of motivations for the joint sessions, risks involved,
and so on).
For example, each party needs to reflect whether the goal of the joint
session is confrontation, providing an explanation of the abuse context, or actually
repairing the current relationship between survivor and non-offending parent.
In some instances it is helpful if a non-offending parent is assigned his or her
own counselor, either to deal with the personal issues that might arise from the
joint sessions or to provide support within the joint sessions themselves.
In
some cases, non-offending parents may experience a crisis when confronted about
their role in the abuse, as they may well have denied or minimized the event in
much the same way as the survivor did. They therefore may need additional therapeutic
services.
- Draucker, Claire, Counselling Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse,
Sage Publications: London, 1992.
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Personal
Reflection Exercise #5
The preceding section contained information
about role of the non-offending family members in the treatment of sexual abuse.
Write three case study examples regarding how you might use the content of this
section in your practice.
Peer-Reviewed Journal Article References:
Hébert, M., Daspe, M.-È., & Cyr, M. (2018). An analysis of avoidant and approach coping as mediators of the relationship between paternal and maternal attachment security and outcomes in child victims of sexual abuse. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 10(4), 402–410.
Katz, C. (2020). “What do you mean the perpetrator? You mean my friend??” Spotlighting the narratives of young children who are victims of sexual abuse by their peers. Psychology of Violence, 10(1), 30–37.
Peterson, Z. D., Beagley, M. C., McCallum, E. B., & Artime, T. M. (2019). Sexual attitudes and behaviors among men who are victims, perpetrators, or both victims and perpetrators of adult sexual assault. Psychology of Violence, 9(2), 221–234.
QUESTION
19
Historically, what non-offending family member is often blamed for
the abuse? Record the letter of the correct answer the
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