Mothers of children who are victims of sexual abuse: from blame to agency
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5027/psicoperspectivas-Vol25-Issue1-fulltext-3598Keywords:
child sexual abuse, maternal agency, maternal blame, narratives, non-offending mothersAbstract
Child sexual abuse transcends the direct victims and impacts their significant others, especially non-offending mothers. A review of the literature shows that a shared experience among non-offending mothers is guilt and blame for the sexual abuse experienced by their children. The article aims to contribute to the understanding of the complexity of the emotional experiences of non-offending mothers in the post-disclosure period of abuse, their processes of reframing, and the exercise of their agency. The results highlight their moral positioning and protective strategies from a non-blaming perspective. Using a qualitative methodology and a narrative design, a thematic analysis is conducted, based on interviews with 17 non-offending mothers about their emotional experiences in the post-disclosure period of child sexual abuse. The mothers address their feelings of guilt regarding the abuse experienced by their children, revealing a complex interaction between negative self-evaluation, pressure from social mandates, changes in their identity as mothers and in parenting, and what they describe as the process of re-signifying guilt and recovering their agency as protective figures.
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Copyright (c) 2026 María Soledad Latorre Latorre, María Teresa Del Río Albornoz (Autor)
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