Revisiting the Child from Back Then. Reports on Sexual Abuse in Childhood and Systematic Perspectives on Vulnerability

Abstract

In recent years there have been some social changes in dealing with child sexual abuse in many countries, in particular as a result of the discovery of sexual violence in the Catholic Church. The findings on perpetrator-friendly treatment, cover-ups and often non-existent criminal prosecution have led, after becoming known in many countries, to greater attention for child sexual abuse also in other contexts such as sport or the family. This article is based on written reports of victims and survivors to the “Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse” in Germany. Its mission is to investigate the extent, nature, causes and consequences of sexual abuse in institutions and in the family context in the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic (GDR) from 1949 to the present day. In particular, it aims to provide a suitable framework for listening to victims and survivors as well as contemporary witnesses and in doing so create an opportunity to also report statute-barred injustices. A sample of 26 written reports out of 370 were analysed. The analyses focussed on three questions: How do adults report their experiences of the children they once were to an independent inquiry? What insights into the implications of child sexual abuse for the child can be generated from the memories? What are the resulting systematic perspectives for the concept of vulnerability?