Sexual abuse by siblings: The victims' perspectives

Abstract

The impact of child sexual abuse by siblings has sometimes been dismissed as relatively unimportant. This is particularly true when perpetrator and victim are less than five years apart in age. There has been little recognition that older children can be abused by younger ones.

This article examines the experiences of twelve women who were abused by their brothers. Some of them were only a few years younger than the perpetrators, and in four instances the sisters were older than their brothers.

The twelve share the emotional burdens of most victims of child sexual abuse. However, there are aspects of their experiences which have some qualitative differences. The areas where this is particularly apparent are in relation to minimisation of the impact of the abuse, establishing responsibility and expressing anger, relationships with parents, physical dimensions and concern for the future. The survivors' perspectives on these issues are discussed