Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) Students' Prior Sexual Abuse Victimization

The authors express appreciation to Dr. Pat Litzelfelner for her assistance with this article.

Abstract

This paper reports findings of an exploratory study surveying 61 students about their prior child sexual abuse victimization. Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) students were surveyed at the beginning and end of a child abuse course and results indicated that 19.7 % of the students reported being sexually abused during childhood. Results also indicated that taking a child abuse course may increase BSW students' self‐awareness regarding prior victimization. The paper discusses how prior child sexual abuse victimization can affect social work students, education, and practice.

Keywords:

• child sexual abuse
• prior victimization
• BSW students' self‐awareness

Notes

The authors express appreciation to Dr. Pat Litzelfelner for her assistance with this article.