Considering Family Reconnection and Reunification After ...

Considering Family Reconnection and Reunification after Child Sexual Abuse:

A Road Map for Advocates and Service Providers

Suggested citation: Tabachnick, J., & Pollard, P. (2016). Considering family reconnections and reunification after child sexual abuse: A road map for advocates and service providers. Enola, PA: National Sexual Violence Resource Center.

?National Sexual Violence Resource Center 2016. All rights reserved.

This project was supported by Grant No. 2011-TA-AX-K023 awarded by the Office on Violence Against Women, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, conclusions, and recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women.

The content of this publication may be reprinted with the following acknowledgment: This material was reprinted, with permission, from the National Sexual Violence Resource Center's publication entitled Considering family reconnections and reunification after child sexual abuse: A road map for advocates and service providers. Also available online at the Lifespan webpage of National Sexual Violence Resource Center website:

Considering Family Reconnection and Reunification after Child Sexual Abuse:

A Road Map for Advocates

and Service Providers

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Note From the Authors

1

Introduction

5

Background on Child Sexual Abuse

11

Definitions

23

Guiding Principles and Assumptions

26

Navigating the Road Map of Reunification

28

Outline of the Steps

32

Conclusion

47

Acknowledgments

49

References

51

Resources

57

Appendix A: The Seven Major Risk/Need Factors

59

Appendix B: Family Safety Plan

60

Appendix C: Roles in the Reunification Process

63

Considering Family Reconnection and Reunification after Child Sexual Abuse

i

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ii

Note From the Authors

Few topics stir up such deeply emotional responses as the sexual abuse of a child. When we began talking about this guide we were met with a range of reactions from anger and fear to a deep appreciation for taking on a project that will provide a thoughtful examination of this important issue, sometimes from the very same people. What we have begun to see is that each reaction is tied to the image that person holds in the moment of who a "sex offender" is, and how fully the person has internalized the widespread and sometimes misleading assumptions and stereotypes about people who have sexually abused a child.

The reactions we have heard to family reunification have tended to be quite different depending on whether an individual's image of the sexually abusive person is that of a child, who is sexually-reactive to his or her own abuse experiences, versus an image of a manipulative adult family member, who has not acknowledged the harm or respected boundaries of the family.

Considering Family Reconnection and Reunification after Child Sexual Abuse

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