Childhood sexual abuse affects approximately 20% of women but is hidden in society and shrouded in silence. Few women disclose childhood sexual abuse to healthcare professionals but the potential for trauma in encounters with them is well documented. The study confirmed silence and demonstrated that many aspects of maternity care were reminiscent of abuse. However, childbirth can be healing for women who experienced sensitive care. There is no direct intervention to support these women: they are often unidentifiable. What they need depends on the individual woman, may change from day to day and is context-specific. Healthcare professionals may feel ill-equipped to deal effectively with disclosures of childhood sexual abuse and educational resources are lacking.
This project created an opportunity to ‘voice the silence’ through cultural media, address this deficit and influences the social impact of childhood sexual abuse.This resulting resource will help women who have experienced childhood sexual abuse (CSA) to prepare for pregnancy, birth and parenthood.
The effects of CSA can last a long time and having a baby can be a particularly difficult and lonely time. The resource shares real-life experiences of pregnancy, birth and parenthood and has been created through the collaboration of women who have experienced CSA, midwives and researchers.
The resource includes:

Choose how and where you work through the resource.This project is a collaboration between the Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing & Midwifery at King's College London and J Motion, brokered by the Cultural Institute King's. The development of this resource was funded by a Wellcome Trust Engaging Science People Award.