Forming a Consortium: A Design for Interagency Collaboration in the Delivery of Service Following the Disclosure of Incest

Abstract

A central issue in the treatment of intrafamilial sexual abuse is the "secondary trauma" experienced by both the victimized child and her family when the wider system of regulatory and treatment agencies present redundant, incongruent, or conflicting perspectives and demands. This article describes an attempt to effect second-order change through formation of a consortium of regulatory and treatment agencies to develop a consistent and coordinated response to the disclosure of sexual abuse. Feminist, social constructionist, and organizational development ideas are used to develop principles of intersubjectivity, collaboration and a "both-and" stance, which have guided both the clinical and wider systems work.