The goal of this research is to develop a substantive theory on the recovery process of women who experienced sexual violence in their childhood. This paper defines survivors of child sexual violence as those who experienced forced sexual contacts or ...
The goal of this research is to develop a substantive theory on the recovery process of women who experienced sexual violence in their childhood. This paper defines survivors of child sexual violence as those who experienced forced sexual contacts or more severe types of sexual molestation at the age of 13 or younger. The cases were limited to those without severe physical injuries and at the same time not appropriately handled at the time of incidence, regardless of whether the cases were announced to others or not.
A total of six subjects were selected through a theoretical sampling process. The data were collected using in-depth interviews conducted from May 2009 to January 2011. An analysis of a set of data was followed by a search for next subjects with an aim to obtain theoretical saturation. The data analysis was carried out in accordance with grounded theory procedures by Craig Hill Thurs Shigeko Ge(戈木クレイグヒル滋子).
As a results of data analysis, 268 concepts, 42 subcategories, and 23 categories were revealed. The findings of this research proved that the recovery process goes through three stages including denial, acceptance, and integration. However, not all of those who experienced child sexual abuse reach the integration stage: many remain stalled at some point in the process depending on the progress in their recovery. During the process, survivors experience their perception of self-identity changing from victims to survivors and then to one with an experience of sexual violence.
Paradigm 1 is a denial stage. Identified categories for this stage are the following: as for conditions, ignorance of sexual violence, concealment of the case by the children involved and/or their families, and public perceptions of sexual violence; regarding actions/interactions, innermost secrets and isolation as a victim of "sexual" violence; and as to consequences, carrying on with life turning away from the memory.
After the incidence of sexual abuse, the case remains covered up for a while partly due to low awareness of sexual abuse and concealment of the case by abused children and their families. When public perceptions of sexual molestation are embraced, the abused child becomes considered a victim of "sexual" violence, triggering in the child a sense of loss of purity, a sense of guilt, negative self-perception, and problems in interpersonal and sexual relationships. Those who fail to embrace the experience of sexual molestation attempt to delete it from their memory by engrossing themselves in other areas or pursuing external achievements.
Identified categories for paradigm 2, an acceptance stage, are the following: as for conditions, recall of the experience and response to it in adulthood, difficulties in dating and sexual relationships, and pressure to inform others of the case; as to actions/interactions, exploration of problems, attempts to solve the problems, embracing of the experience of sexual abuse, seeking the possibility of and attempts at revealing the experience of sexual victimization to others, going public and response from others, and proactive acquisition of information on sexual violence; and as for consequences, embracing the experience and carrying on with life.
The survivors report that when reaching adulthood, they experienced a number of issues of which they could not understand the causes and faced problems in dating and/or sexual relationships. Such experiences prompt them to start exploring their experience of sexual victimization, mourning for themselves, and facing rising conflicts with their parents. Some seek to resolve the problems through familial relationships while others check out how people surrounding them perceive the situation. During the process, they come to the realization that the experience of sexual abuse is something that they need to take responsibility for themselves and start looking for information on the issue in order to carry on with life as a survivor. As a consequence, they grow as a survivor defying the perceptions of sexual violence prevailing in the mainstream society and re-establishing the relationships with non-supportive others.
Paradigm 3 is an integration stage. Categories determined for this stage include: when it comes to conditions, needs to resolve remaining challenges and needs for support for survivors of sexual violence; in terms of actions/interactions, in-depth exploration of sexual violence issues, overcoming isolation, increased awareness of the issue of sexual violence, and participation in support activities for survivors; and as to consequences, carrying on with life with the experience of sexual abuse.
In paradigm 2, embracing the experience of sexual assault and living as a survivor brings about isolation and needs to deal with remaining issues, which prompts the survivors to make efforts to shift the relationships with important others and to get out of isolation through interactions with their support groups. Furthermore, by participating in sexual abuse-related counselling and programs and becoming aware of the feminist doctrine, the survivors are able to perceive sexual violence as a social issue. Some get involved in support activities for other survivors based on their own experience. By going through such process, the experience of sexual violence becomes integrated as part of their life and the survivors are empowered to overcome their traumatic experience through social connections.
According to this research, the patriarchal culture of South Korea aggravated the trauma that the survivors of sexual violence without physical injuries had to suffer and their recovery process was a process of overcoming the culture. In addition, one of the characteristics of child sexual abuse is that victimized children tend to turn away from the experience for a long period of time, which postpones the resolution of the issue until they reach adulthood. I