Screaming Body and Silent Healthcare Providers: A Case Study with a Childhood Sexual Abuse Survivor

Sigrun Sigurdardottir and Sigridur Halldorsdottir
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Sigrun Sigurdardottir: School of Health Sciences, University of Akureyri, 600 Akureyri, Iceland
Sigridur Halldorsdottir: School of Health Sciences, University of Akureyri, 600 Akureyri, Iceland

IJERPH, 2018, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-17

Abstract: Stressful early life experiences cause immune dysregulation across the lifespan. Despite the fact that studies have identified childhood sexual abuse (CSA) survivors as a particularly vulnerable group, only a few attempts have been made to study their lived-experience of the physical health consequences of CSA. The aim of this study was to explore a female CSA survivor’s lived-experience of the physical health consequences of CSA and how she experienced the reactions of healthcare providers. Seven interviews were conducted with this 40-year-old woman, Anne, using a phenomenological research approach. Anne was still a young child (two to three years old) when her father started to rape her. Since her childhood, she has experienced complex and widespread physical health consequences such as repeated vaginal and abdominal infections, widespread and chronic pain, sleeping problems, digestive problems, chronic back problems, fibromyalgia, musculoskeletal problems, repeated urinary tract infections, cervical dysplasia, inflammation of the Fallopian tubes, menorrhagia, endometrial hyperplasia, chlamydia, ovarian cysts, ectopic pregnancies, uterus problems, severe adhesions, and ovarian cancer. Anne disclosed her CSA experience to several healthcare providers but they were silent and failed to provide trauma-informed care. Anne’s situation, albeit unique, might reflect similar problems in other female CSA survivors.

Keywords: child sexual abuse (CSA); female CSA survivors; psychological trauma; disclosure; women’s health; healthcare providers; chronic illness; case study; phenomenology; interviews (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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