Child sexual abuse is a global phenomenon that affects many families and appears to be increasing dramatically in South Africa. The literature on child sexual abuse focuses mainly on the victims and perpetrators while largely ignoring the experiences of non-offending mothers. The objective of this study was to explore the lived experiences of mothers whose children were sexually abused by their intimate male partners. Existential phenomenology was employed in the study, and Braun and Clarke’s six-phase thematic analysis was used to (...) analyse the data. The results indicate that the participants experienced emotions similar to those following loss including disbelief, anger, guilt, depression, trust and blame. (shrink)

Child sexual abuse is a global phenomenon that affects many families and appears to be increasing dramatically in South Africa. The literature on child sexual abuse focuses mainly on the victims and perpetrators while largely ignoring the experiences of non-offending mothers. The objective of this study was to explore the lived experiences of mothers whose children were sexually abused by their intimate male partners. Existential phenomenology was employed in the study, and Braun and Clarke’s (2006) six-phase thematic analysis was used (...) to analyse the data. The results indicate that the participants experienced emotions similar to those following loss including disbelief, anger, guilt, depression, trust and blame. Indo-Pacific Journal of Phenomenology , Volume 11, Edition 1 May 2011, 11-24. (shrink)

This study explores the grief experiences of young adults in the aftermath of the murder of a sibling. Three young adults were recruited to participate in interviews in which they described their lived experience of loss. Data collection and the subsequent analyses were guided by a phenomenological research design and resulted in the identification of seven major themes, namely (1) shock and disbelief, (2) recollection, guilt and self-blame, (3) rupture and fragmentation, (4) support, (5) justice and revenge, (6) reformulation, and (...) (7) resilience, healing and growth. These themes are discussed with reference to the findings of other documented studies, and the implications for practitioners working with bereaved siblings of murder victims pointed to. Indo-Pacific Journal of Phenomenology , May 2010, Volume 10, Edition 1. (shrink)