Sexuelle Gewalt gegen Kinder und Jugendliche in der Familie

Abstract

As part of the process of coming to terms/working through the past with sexual violence by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual abuse in Germany, a study was conducted on the offence context of the family. Oral and written reports from adults who were affected by and witnesses of sexual violence in childhood in the context of the family were analysed. The study was linked to previous work and discussions on social silence and ideas of violence in the family as a private matter. The findings show that the violence often started early, was accompanied by other forms of violence, and ranged from severe physical violence to manipulation without the use of physical violence. The perspectives of survivors on their experience as a child are of particular importance. They show that children depend on family members and their interpretation of boundary violations and violence. When children and young people experience violence, ideas and structures of upbringing, family and gender roles have a direct impact. A central experience of many of the survivors was that they were not taken seriously. This intertwining of family, childhood and violence has not been sufficiently researched so far. Moreover, perpetrators’ perspectives and silence often prevailed in families and institutions; even as adults, most of those affected often experienced little support and recognition.