Victims’ Retrospective Explanations of Sibling Sexual Violence

ABSTRACT

While sibling sexual abuse may be the most common form of sexual violence within the family, relatively few studies have been conducted on this topic. The current study addresses this gap in the literature through analyses of thematic categories in narratives gathered from an online survey of sibling sexual violence. Survivors were asked to report why they believed their siblings had become sexually abusive toward them. Participants believed that their abusers had learned to be abusive due to their own victimization or exposure to pornography, were abusive to establish dominance over them, or had some undisclosed mental illness. While the study does not claim to test these explanations or include abusers’ own narratives, it offers insight as to how sibling sexual violence survivors make sense of their experiences and assign blame to abusers and their families. It also offers insights into future inquiries about sibling sexual abuse.

KEYWORDS:

• adult survivor
• family
• incest
• sibling abuse
• victim

Disclosure of interest

Authors McDonald and Martinez declare that they have no conflicts to report.

Ethical standards and informed consent

All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committeeon human experimentation [institutional and national] and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000. Informed consent was obtained from all patients for being included in this study.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Courtney McDonald

Courtney McDonald, PhD, is an assistant professor of criminal justice in the Department of Sociology, Criminal Justice, and Women’s Studies at the University of South Carolina Upstate. Her major area of research focuses on family violence perpetrated against marginalized populations.

Katherine Martinez

Katherine Martinez, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Institute of Women’s Studies and Services at Metropolitan State University of Denver. Her areas of research interest include queer theories, practices, and activism, critical race studies, and feminist-marxism.