Arab Parents' Reactions to Child Sexual Abuse: A Review of Clinical Records

This paper addresses parents' reactions to sexual abuse cases in their families. The study analyzed the clinical records of individual and family therapy sessions with 35 cases of Arab Palestinian clients, citizens of Israel (27 individuals and 8 families). Families were categorized as either functional or dysfunctional. It was concluded that the degree and type of relatedness of the perpetrator to the victim's family influences the type of reaction more than the family's level of functionality or the type of harm caused to the victim. Functional families consider the mental welfare of the victim as a serious concern. However, when the abuser is a relative or an acquaintance, functional families balance between support for the victim and the maintenance of correct relations with the abuser's family. Dysfunctional families offer solutions that in the short-term and/or the long-term usually harm the victim.