This book grapples with the potential impacts of collective trauma in war-rape survivors’ families. Drawing on inter-ethnic and inter-generational participatory action research on reconciliation processes in post-conflict Bosnia-Herzegovina, the author examines the risk that female survivors of war-related sexual crimes, now-mothers, will breed hatred and further division in the post-conflict context. Showing how the historical trauma of sexual abuse among survivors affects the ideas, perceptions, behavioural patterns and understandings of the ethnic and religious ‘Other’ or perpetrator, the book also considers the influence of such trauma on other attitudes rarely addressed in peacebuilding programmes, such as notions of naturalised gender-based violence, cultural scripts of sexuality and support for dangerous or violent aspects of the patriarchal social order. It thus seeks to sketch proposals for a curriculum of peacebuilding that takes account of the legacy of war rape in survivors’ families and the impact of trauma transmission. As such, Trauma Transmission and Sexual Violence will appeal to scholars of politics, sociology and gender studies with interests in peace and reconciliation processes and war-related sexual violence.

Victims of sexual assault experience their trauma in different ways, and often one path to recovery and healing is right for one person, but not right for another. While there are some general mental health effects of sexual violence, this book outlines and describes the impact of particular types of sexual violation. Whether the survivor has experienced childhood sexual abuse, sexual assault during adulthood, marital rape, sexual harassment, sex trafficking, or sexual violence within the military, they will find aspects of her experience in these pages. Once survivors understand the ways in which they have been affected, they are introduced to various pathways to surviving sexual violence and moving forward. The chapters provide case examples and specific activities which give a fuller description of the ways survivors can make use of the particular approaches, which include mind-body practices, counseling, group therapies, self-defense training, and others. Anyone who has been a victim of sexual violence, or knows and cares about someone who has, will find relief in these pages, which offer practical approaches to finding balance and healing.

Exploring the conditions under which children, as a function of their own abuse, become abusive themselves. That experiences from childhood affect our behavior in adulthood, especially in the ways we treat our children and intimate partners, is generally accepted. Indeed, theories of intergenerational transmission of violence indicate that if we ourselves have been abused and neglected as children, we will likely be abusive and neglectful to others close to us—thus extending the cycle across generations. However, many individuals who were maltreated as children do not replicate this cycle, and such models make little sense of the individual raised in a “good family” who is violent either as a child or as an adult. These discontinuities of cycles of violence and trauma have challenged professionals and nonprofessionals alike. However, broadening our vision and attending to new areas of research can help to illuminate this conundrum and open up new avenues of intervention. In this book, Pamela Alexander does just that. She proposes that an increased risk for abusive behavior or revictimization, as a function of one’s own experiences of abuse or trauma in childhood, can best be understood through the complementary lenses of attachment theory (focusing on the relationship between the child and the caregiver) and family systems theory (focusing on the larger context of this relationship). That is, what a child acquires from her relationship with a caregiver is not simply a reflection of what she has “learned” from experiencing or witnessing abuse. Rather, it emerges from the child’s felt experience of the relationship itself—on implicit emotional, physical, and neurobiological levels. Alexander founds the book on this multifaceted parent–child attachment relationship and its place in the wider family system, integrating clinical experience with close attention to the long-term neurobiological and epigenetic effects of trauma. She focuses on common outcomes of a history of maltreatment, and of child sexual abuse in particular, including peer victimization, partner violence, parenting problems, and sexual offending. A detailed review of the literature accompanies instructive case examples. Sources of trauma from outside the family, including combat exposure, political terrorism, foster care, and incarceration of parents are considered. Finally, Alexander analyzes the multiple sources of natural resilience—the neurobiological, the individual, the relational, and the social—to enable professionals of all backgrounds to tailor-make effective interventions for interrupting cycles of trauma and violence.

Inadequate responses to victims of rape or sexual violence can lead to further psychological trauma which damages their chances of recovery. Addressing key issues for people working with victims of sexual violence, this resource offers the skills, knowledge and insight to help survivors as they move forward with their lives.

This important new book explores how to support refugee family relationships in promoting post-trauma recovery and adaptation in exile.

After reviewing the relevant treatment literature, the authors detail how to assess and treat PTSD using a cognitive-behavioral approach. Co mplete instructions are given for planning treatment, as well as for i ntroducing the patient to the various interventions. Nine exposure and stress management techniques are then detailed, including imaginal ex posure (trauma reliving), in vivo exposure, relaxation training, thoug ht-stopping, cognitive restructuring, covert modeling, and role-playin g. Enhancing the books clinical utility are numerous case examples il lustrating how to implement the techniques, as well as explanations of how to cope with common problems and complications in treatment. The final chapter presents detailed outlines of three suggested treatment programs.

From Child Sexual Abuse to Adult Sexual Risk examines the relation between child sexual abuse (CSA) and adult sexual health outcomes in men and women. An emerging body of literature suggests that children who experience sexual violence are more likely to engage in sexual risk behavior and, consequently, may be vulnerable to many negative reproductive and sexual health problems as adults. These problems include unwanted pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, HIV infection, and adult sexual violence. In this singular volume, leading researchers and clinicians integrate research from a variety of disciplines, including epidemiology, traumatology, and prevention science, to bridge the current scientific literatures on CSA, basic trauma research, and clinical practice. Chapters identify the theory and research-based cognitive, affective, social, and behavioral consequences of trauma that influence both sexual health and sexual risk behaviors in adulthood. The volume also highlights new approaches that begin to translate these findings into interventions for people who have experienced CSA. This comprehensive resource delineates an emerging field of research that will help set a new c

Examine the effects of childhood trauma on sexual orientation and behavior! This pioneering book examines the effects of childhood trauma—including sexual abuse—on sexual orientation and behavior. It will help you expand your sensitivity and expertise in a critically important way: by providing a nonjudgmental look at the profound effects of long-standing early abuse on the sexual identities, orientation, behaviors, and fantasies of the people who come to you for help. From the editors: “In the modern era of trauma studies, clinicians and researchers have been treating and investigating the effects of trauma—including the sexual abuse of children—for more than two decades. And yet, we know far more about sequelae such as post-traumatic and dissociative symptoms, disrupted attachment, addictions, eating disorders, and somatoform symptoms than we do about the effects of trauma on sexual behavior. With the exception of a relatively few articles in the scientific literature (many of which were written by the authors in this collection), little has been published about the sexual effects of sexual abuse and other childhood maltreatment. “Why have we neglected this obvious and important area? Perhaps the reason can be simply attributed to our Victorian legacy of reluctance to openly discuss sexuality. Or, perhaps the reason may be related to some of the expressions of sexuality that are sometimes seen in persons with childhood trauma. At times, expressions such as sexual addiction, homosexuality, sadomasochistic behavior, and prostitution have been classified as deviant. This may have contributed to our reluctance to discuss them openly. Or, perhaps the reason is that we collectively wish to deny the effects of abuse on one of the core aspects of ourselves—to deny that early traumatic events forever change the sexual lives of persons in such an intimate and profound way.” The co

Practitioners helping adult survivors of child sexual abuse need to be aware of the thought processes of offenders. The premise of Anna Salter's major book is that those who do not recognize an internalized perpetrator when they hear one will often be frustrated by the tenacity of the survivor's self blame. Primarily oriented towards treating adult survivors, this invaluable book will also be useful for treating sex offenders. It includes discussion of crucial issues such as: what clinicians who treat survivors need to know about sex offenders; the different ways sadistic and nonsadistic offenders think and the resulting different `footprints' they leave in the heads of survivors; how trauma affects survivors' world-views;

Drawing on the latest research on memory and traumatic experience, Susan Clancy, an expert in experimental psychopathology, demonstrates that children describe abuse and molestation encounters in ways that don't fit the conventional trauma model. In fact, the most common feeling reported is not fear but confusion. Clancy calls for an honest look at sexual abuse and its aftermath, and argues that the reactions of society and the healing professions -- however well meaning -- actually shackle the victims of abuse in chains of guilt, secrecy, and shame. Pathbreaking and controversial, The Trauma Myth radically reshapes our understanding of sexual abuse and its consequences.