Splintered Lives - Barnardo's

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chapter
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Finkelhor argues that the particular conjunction of these dynamics makes "the trauma
of sexual abuse unique, different from other childhood traumas" (1988, p.180), and that the
short and long term effects are strongest where individuals are abused by a family
member and the abuse is repeated. Inferring from this, it will therefore be harder and
more threatening to tell about repeated abuse by a family member, and also harder to
tell of repeated abuse but where there is an apparent element of 'choice', as in the case
of prostitution. Where silence has been either enforced or chosen as a way of coping,
beginning to speak about victimization usually emerges in response to a change of
context, circumstance, concern or understanding. Remembering and believing oneself
is painful enough, trusting others with that knowledge may not only accentuate the pain
but also open up the dangers of not being believed or made to feel responsible: the
danger of another layer of stigmatisation, betrayal, powerlessness and enforced silence
being added. Researchers and clinicians have referred to these responses as
"secondary abuse" or "secondary victimization" (Faller, 1990).
The reasons why children and adults feel unable to speak about abuse until many years
later, and which account for the interrupted and inconsistent process once they do begin to,
are complex. For each survivor the precise etiology of this process will be different, but
nonetheless informed by their specific experiences of abuse, how they made sense of it at
the time and later, and the social contexts which either facilitated or prevented disclosure.
Donald Nathenson (1989) explores the concept of shame in relation to sexual abuse:
that exposure of "some particularly intimate, sensitive and vulnerable aspect of the
self" (p381) can be very threatening, creating an impulse to hide that which might be
'shameful'. Fear of being viewed as 'shamed' can interfere with connectedness to
others; literally not wanting to be seen/known by them. It is this anticipation of the
judgement of others which makes speaking about sexual abuse so threatening. Using
this as a framework, but extending it to situations involving sexual exploitation the
following possibilities emerge:
Child pornography
�� an awareness that others will be able to see their humiliation without the
child/young person knowing;
�� that what for them was humiliating and shameful is sold/made available as a
source of enjoyment for others;
�� that what they have done under coercion, and/or as a survival strategy will be
seen as at least complicity, and at worst enjoyment.