Identifying and Understanding Revictimization Patterns Revictimization is defined as an experience that will be endured repeatedly. For more than four decades, researchers, social workers and therapists have discussed the probability that once a child has been sexually assaulted, s/he is at higher risk for suffering subsequent assaults. David Finkelhor and … Continue reading
HAUNTED BY PEDOPHILE PARANOIA On the last day of August, I walked my 3- and 5-year-old grandsons to the Optimist’s funded park in their neighbourhood. In addition to swings, slides, climbers, sturdy drums and xylophones, there was a 15 X 15-foot sandbox, boulders to climb, a partial log cabin, and … Continue reading
EIGHT WAYS TO PROVIDE SAFE SPACE FOR A LOVED ONE DEALING WITH SEXUAL TRAUMA “Being a close supporter of a woman actively healing from child sexual abuse can be a challenge,” Ellen Bass and Laura Davis wrote in The Courage to Heal. “While being part of a deep healing process … Continue reading
CONFRONTING THE PERPETRATOR OF CHILD SEXUAL ASSAULT Thirty-three years ago, I took a drive with my older brother to discuss his exploitation of me between the ages of seven and ten. I handed him a 9-page handwritten letter that was the culminating project of the incest survivor’s group I’d struggled … Continue reading
I’ve been blogging, primarily about sexual assault, for a little over a year. I’m not past the fear of “not doing it right,” but wanted to lighten up and just wing this one, writing my heart onto the page. Instead of researching and taking frantic notes, I’m going to share as a human being (as opposed to a human “doing”). Continue reading
Whether speaking with survivors of sexual assault or therapists who endeavor to assist in their recovery, the issue of forgiveness raises intense opinions. Some religious entities and abusers have used forgiveness as a tool for ensuring victims’ silence, minimizing the short- and long-term impact of the crime, or releasing perpetrators from responsibility or the punishment they deserve. Continue reading
What Happened When I Told the Truth? My name is Lee Reinecke, and when I was in graduate school to become a school psychologist, I was advised to have some counseling sessions at the university. If I was to develop empathy for others who needed the assistance of a mental … Continue reading
