”It’s My Responsibility, But…” A Qualitative Study of Perpetrators’ Understanding of Child Sexual Abuse

Abstract

ABSTRACT The present study looked at child sexual abuse (CSA) from the perpetrator’s perspective, focusing on precursors to, sustaining mechanisms, and inhibitors of CSA. Individuals serving sentences for sexual abuse of children under the age of 16 were interviewed (N = 8). A qualitative design using interpretative phenomenological analysis was employed. Negative childhood events such as poly-victimization, poor social skills, loneliness, and insecure sexual identity were reported as predisposing elements. Abuse was sustained due to a strong conviction of not being responsible for doing anything wrong. Respondents conveyed few salient inhibitors for the abuse, though not wanting to physically harm the child was often cited as important. Implications for the prevention of CSA in risk groups suggest the need to increase the understanding of children from a child's perspective, changing conceptions leading to disavowal of adult responsibility toward children, strengthening social competency, integration into a social context, and increasing knowledge about the harmful consequences of CSA.