Towards a better understanding of child sexual abuse among asian communities

Abstract

This paper looks at the utility of western models of child sexual abuse in understanding the nature, extent and management of abuse in Asian families. It describes how contemporary ‘white’ practice theory was assessed by a group of empowered Asian social workers from a county social services department in the north of England. Five female and four male participants came together with the author and a co-leader to run the workshops which engaged this issue. The participants were helped to integrate both their own ‘cultural’ and personal knowledge of Asian families with other professional roles as social workers with potential responsibility for dealing with sexual abuse in Asian families. Western models of child sexual abuse such as those with psycho-dynamic and systemic emphases were ‘tested’ against the nature of abuse in Asian families as construed by participants. Accepted models were found to be wanting, particularly in relation to their inability to take into account the role expectation placed on Asian parents and children, the structure of marriages in Asian communities, the economic dependency of extended families on male wage earners, and the impact of racism on disclosure and help-seeking particularly by women.

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