Perceived dynamics of the family structure of sexually abused children - a cross-cultural study

[摘要] English: Research studies on child sexual abuse are extremely valuable as it is a major problem in our society, especially since in the majority of cases, the perpetrator is known to the victim. Up to 50% of reported cases are due to the natural father's perpetration, while the stepfathers make up 20% of reported cases. Furthermore, there is a lack of cross-cultural research in South Africa. Most research studies have replicated North American and British ideologies and assumptions. There is a need to develop an understanding of child sexual abuse across cultures, so that the problem can be treated in ways which are appropriate to all cultures in the South African community.Overlooked in many research studies, is the relationship between male dominance and sexual abuse. Sexual abuse is an exploitation of power, thus the possibility exists of there being a dysfunctional power distribution in incestuous families. Male dominance within families may well be part of a wider system of male power bestowed upon men by society and from this stems the belief that women are subordinate to men. Thus the potential to misuse this structural power of women becomes greater if there is a misuse of personal power by the father-figure within a family system. The father-figure may employ various power and control tactics over family members. The aim of this study, was to ascertain through the investigation of the mothers' and daughters' perceptions of the family interactional patterns, whether power and control tactics were employed by the perpetrator. The Power and Control Wheel, which was developed by the Domestic Abuse Intervention Project in Duluth, Minnesota, was used as a basis to investigate the types of power and control constructs existent in the incestuous families. The names of black and white victims between the ages of five and 18 years, who were sexually abused by the father-figure were obtained through various organisations in Bloemfontein. Both the victims and their mothers (in total 46 persons) were given seperate questionnaires to complete. 134Although this research sample is small and a number of confounding variables inhibit its generalisation, the following tendencies were evident. According to the mothers' perceptions of the family interactional patterns, the perpetrator employed the con- structs of intimidation, coercion and threats and using the mother. The first two constructs imply that the perpetrator used force, threats, as well as verbal and some- times physical violence to gain control. These tendencies were very predominant in the black families. The construct, using the mother indicates that the perpetrator either threatened to harm the mother or to send her away if the child did not comply with his sexual advances. The perpetrator also threatened the child by implying that the mother would be angry with her for causing the sexual abuse to take place. The daughters' perceptions confirmed the latter construct. The daughters indicated that the perpetrator used the mother to gain power and control over them. There was no difference between the black and white daughters' perceptions for this construct.Although these results cannot be generalised, the above research study indicates that there are certain patriarchal tendencies which form a part of the family dynamics and which should not be overlooked in the treatment of the family system.

[发布机构] University of the Free State