Abstract
Research has shown that there is a negative relation between the experience of sexual violence of mothers and the well-being of their children. When a child is born out of sexual violence, the origin of the child is connected to the traumatic experience. Despite the difficult maternal task of navigating this relationship, research on interventions for mothers with a child born of sexual violence is absent. The current qualitative study was designed to gather expert knowledge of twelve clinicians on the dimensions of interventions for these mothers and their children as a first step in the development of good clinical practice for interventions. Using thematic analysis, the interviews were transcribed, coded and analyzed. Three building blocks for interventions for mothers and their children born of sexual violence were identified: building a secure attachment, reduction of trauma-related symptomatology, and addressing stigmatization. Clinicians describe many factors that need to be taken into account in treatment but emphasize the importance of the therapeutic relationship to be efficacious. The foundation of a strong therapeutic relationship together with the building blocks are the elements for good clinical practice on interventions for mothers with a child born of sexual violence.
Highlights
Sexual violence, defined as any act of a sexual nature that is committed without consent, can have a profound impact on the survivor, the community and even the generation
The interviewees had 10.4 years of experience; five worked with victims of torture and war violence, mostly refugees or victims of human trafficking, three Dutch clinicians worked with Dutch inhabitants and foreign clients who have had experience of rape, one clinician worked with women who experienced sexual violence in military service, one clinician worked in post-war environments, and two clinicians from the US had worked both in their own country and abroad in post-war environments with traumatized women and children
The aim of this study was to gather expert knowledge on the dimensions of interventions for the mothers and their children born of sexual violence as a first step in developing a framework for good clinical practice
Summary
Sexual violence, defined as any act of a sexual nature that is committed without consent, can have a profound impact on the survivor, the community and even the generation. Research has shown that there is a negative relation between the experience of sexual violence of mothers and the well-being of their children [1,2,3,4]. This relation is mediated by mental health problems of the mother, such as symptoms of depression and post-traumatic stress [5,6,7]. Traumatized mothers can be less sensitive, available, involved and more intrusive and hostile in their interaction with their children [8,9] These affected interactions raise concerns for the formation of a secure attachment relationship. Similar results have been found for depressed mothers and the relationship with their children [12,13,14]
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