The dynamics of sexual victimization/victimizing in the members of a child sexual abuse group: Exploring the theoretical role of shame

A weekly inpatient group for preadolescent children who have been sexually abused and/or sexually abusive provides insights into the convergences of victimization and victimizing. Based on clinical experience and a review of pertinent literature, it is hypothesized that shame forms a crucial affective bridge by which the transition from victim to victimizer occurs. The group fosters exploration of this transition, viewing it as an attempt to master, or annihilate, the initial pain of exploitation. exploitation Examination of feeling states that underlie early traumatic experience illustrates the defensive transformations that translate the painful affects of victimization into victimizing behaviors. The group provides a suitably shame-reducing clinical context for this process.