Sexual abuse of female Aboriginal children: How do we approach the issue? How do we heal the damage caused by abuse?

Abstract

This thesis investigates theoretical bases and the therapeutic processes in healing Aboriginal child sexual abuse. Through a content analysis of the cross-cultural literature, key concepts are developed from which theoretical constructs are developed to answer research questions related to sexual abuse and the therapeutic healing process necessary to overcome it. Causes, indicators and outcomes of sexual abuse, are reviewed. Abusive situations in which Aboriginal children and adolescents are placed, are considered in the context of the psychological, social, and cultural dysfunction caused by culture contact and conflict over the past 200 years. Concepts such as dispossession, protectionism, assimilation, cultural pluralism and separate development are reviewed in setting the context for sexual abuse within dysfunctional families. Therapies in the context of Indigenous and Aboriginal societies and healing processes relevant to Aboriginal sexual abuse victims are explored and further research reviewed. Key concepts, propositional statements and theoretical constructs are developed and a therapeutic model is presented as a basis for health workers to address the causes of child sexual abuse within the Aboriginal social and cultural context. Code words include sexual and transgenerational abuse; Aboriginal art and creative arts therapy; therapeutic processes; cultural conflict; and Christianity.