Intervention in cases of Sibling Sexual Abuse: What can professionals learn from experience and perceptions of siblings involved?

Purpose: Sibling sexual abuse (SSA) is possibly the most widespread intra-familial child sexual abuse. It is also the most under-reported, being frequently regarded as play or normal sexual behavior. This study examines the... [ view full abstract ]

Purpose: Sibling sexual abuse (SSA) is possibly the most widespread intra-familial child sexual abuse. It is also the most under-reported, being frequently regarded as play or normal sexual behavior. This study examines the meanings attached to sexual relationships between siblings by the siblings themselves during intervention at a Child Advocacy Center (CAC) in Israel. These subjective views are especially significant as they enable professionals: (1) to modify treatment and intervention to better fit the needs of these children; (2) to respect children’s views and have them participate in decision making.

Method:  Qualitative document analysis was applied to 100 SSA family files referred to a CAC containing case summaries and documented conversations between CAC social workers and siblings who were involved or witnessed the sexual acts.

Results: The siblings experienced and perceived two types of SSA dynamics: “identified perpetrator” and “routine relationship”, the latter being a particularly understudied dynamic that challenges common stereotypes. Sibling perceptions of deviancy varied along a continuum from deviant to completely normative. These perceptions were affected by the type of the dynamics as well as by factors associated with disclosure.

Conclusions: Our findings highlight the importance of studying the lived experiences of siblings involved in SSA as an input with critical implications for policy, treatment and research. Interventions must be adjusted to the family system and the sibling subsystem's perceptions and needs to avoid treatment that exacerbates the crisis already experienced by the family. The assumption that there must be a “perpetrator”, that abuse is necessarily traumatic, and that treatment should be focused on the trauma, are challenged by the “routine relationship” type. We conclude that treatment should account for the complexity of SSA by shedding such assumptions and considering the sibling subsystem as an autonomous unit within the family.