Considering Family Reconnection and Reunification after Child Sexual Abuse

This explanation of the process should
not be seen as an endorsement of
family reunification.
Creating safety is not an abstract notion.
It takes time to understand what puts
someone at risk to abuse, and to identify
the protective factors in a given family that
reduce that risk. It also demands concrete
plans for behaviors that are acceptable and
how to respond to behaviors that might be
outside of those agreed-upon boundaries.
Hopefully, by breaking down the essential
pieces, professionals, and the families with
whom they work, will be able to understand
the resources needed to maintain safety,
both for a child who has experienced
sexual abuse and for a child, adolescent, or
adult who has sexually harmed a child.
The ideal for family reunification that
is described here can be met only if
everyone in the family recognizes the
harm caused to a child, if the process can
be fully supported by the professionals
surrounding the family, and if the family’s
capacity is supported with the necessary
resources to move through this difficult
time in their lives. Any description of
such a process must also offer significant
cautions about when this process does
not make sense and the many decision
points where reunification may be stopped
or paused for a significant amount of
time. The task of professionals is to always
strive toward creating an environment
that supports those ideals to the greatest
extent possible.
Finally, this guide offers families a sense
of hope that healing is possible. Although
the effort to achieve a successful family
reunification after sexual abuse is difficult
and often painful, it is also, at least for
some families, a real possibility that can
lead to a healthy, happy future.
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