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Sheona Goodyear, University of Birmingham, United KingdomAbstract
Child sexual abuse is a global concern. However, recent national and international attention has focused on child sexual exploitation and sexual abuse which is technology assisted or that which happens between children, whereas a high proportion of victims and survivors were sexually abused as girls by men who were or felt like family. These victims are under-represented in research. Although primary school staff have ideal opportunities to support them, victims rarely disclose sexual abuse experiences at school. I led this research as an insider researcher using heuristic inquiry to provide insights into women survivors’ experiences of primary school following sexual abuse by a man within their family ecosystem. Heuristic inquiry holistically investigates a social phenomenon for which the researcher and research partners share intense personal interest. Using a best-practice model with a trauma responsive and relational ethic of care, I invited women survivors to share memories and create meaning of what primary school was like for them. Twelve survivor research partners provided rich, nuanced details of how they experienced school, factors which were protective and what might have helped them disclose. Reflexive thematic analysis of the semi-structured interviews and follow-up communications revealed individual responses to trauma, how they masked what had happened to them, their efforts to establish autonomy and needs to matter in contrast with the sense of not mattering instilled by sexual abuse and familial responses. The awareness and recommendations generated will inform educators, practitioners in other sectors and policy makers to drive enhanced responses for victims.
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Conference: PCE2026Stream: Learning Experiences
This paper is part of the PCE2026 Conference Proceedings (View)
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