Teachers coping with sexual abuse issues

This paper is based on my study of how survivors, mothers of survivors and teachers of survivors cope in the aftermath of child sexual abuse. It explores aspects of the experiences of the 14 teacher respondents from that study. The paper examines how teachers dealt with sexual abuse issues and the effects of this on the teachers concerned. It concludes that often insufficient attention is paid to teachers' personal needs, and that in some instances, policies are not sufficiently responsive to the needs of all children. It argues that more training and greater openness are important concerns in dealing with this issue.