Citation

Tener D, Eisikovits Z. J. Interpers. Violence 2017; 32(16): 2496-2514.

Affiliation

University of Haifa, Israel.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/0886260515593296

PMID

26130683

Abstract

The authors examine how women who experienced intrafamilial child sexual abuse (IFCSA) perceive social expectations of society toward forgiveness, how they incorporate IFCSA and reconstruct their life stories in relation to these expectations, and the costs and gains from such reconstructions. This is part of a larger study on the phenomenology of forgiveness for IFCSA among grown women. Twenty Jewish Israeli women who had experienced IFCSA were interviewed in depth. Interviews were tape-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data analyses lead to four types of social expectations: forgiveness by forgetting, avenging, family preservation through forgiveness, and satisfying the voyeuristic needs of society, which has limited interest in forgiveness. These contradictory expectations are discussed in light of the cultural context and the experience of the women interviewed. Implications for practice are suggested.

Language: en