Abstract
The Children Act 1989 states that due consideration should be given ‘to the child’s religious persuasion, racial origin and cultural and linguistic background'. Children who have been sexually abused and who grow up in families with strong Christian beliefs have additional concerns not readily identified by the child protection worker or therapist. Drawing upon 10 years' work experience, this paper aims to present the views and struggles of adult Christian women and men who have been sexually abused. Much of what is presented can be applied to other faith communities, since the difficulties lie sometimes with patriarchal communities, with male deities and with tenets of belief which can hinder the child from disclosing. Beliefs such as ‘Honour thy father and thy mother’, no sex before marriage and forgiveness of all had significant impact on survivors. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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