Considering Family Reconnection and Reunification after Child Sexual Abuse

to their community, and in many cases
to their families. Even when the person
who abused a child is held accountable
for his or her crime, at some point, the
community and his or her family will still
need to interact with them in some way.
For example, an adult who was sexually
abused as a child may seek reconnection
either through a clarification session or
reunification with the person who abused
them, making this issue a part of our
approach to victim-centered care.
For the purpose of this guide, we
recognize that the concept of family
changes for each individual as well as
across cultures. Therefore, when talking
about reintegration into the family, the
discussions of “family” might go beyond
the nuclear family to address safety plans
for the larger extended family or “chosen”
family or community.
It is critical to acknowledge that for many
families, it is not safe to even consider
reunification after a child has been
sexually abused. It is also true that under
certain circumstances, reunification has
worked for families, even resulting in more
accountability for their behaviors and in a
richer, healthier environment for growth,
especially if the person who caused the
harm is/was a child or teenager.
Successful reunification is possible when
there are resources available to help
monitor the process; if enough time has
passed for deeper acknowledgment of
the pain as well as practical safety plans
for everyone; and if there are people
within the family and larger community
network to ensure that safety plans are
established and maintained. Some level
of reintegration may actually be the most
healing path for the family.
This guide is not a “how to” manual nor
an endorsement of reunification, but rather
a tool to begin a discussion that we hope
will be useful for sexual assault advocates
who want to understand the process, learn
about the resources and knowledge needed
to make it work, and explore whether/when
this process makes sense for a particular
family and situation.
Finally, and most importantly, we want
to give our heartfelt thank you to the
individuals, families, advocates, and other
professionals who have shared their
experiences with us, fully recognizing that
even the concept of family reunification
after sexual abuse can be a difficult one for
many people to think about. As authors,
we know that we could not have done this
work without these painful and sometimes
hopeful stories in mind.
And we want to thank our own families
and partners for their insights, love, humor,
and support throughout this writing and
editing process.
Warmly,
Joan Tabachnick and Peter Pollard
Considering Family Reconnection and Reunification after Child Sexual Abuse 3