Research highlights mothers’ social support needs after their child’s sexual abuse disclosure
Serin's research underlines that mothers are also victimized, and after the disclosure, they are as vulnerable as their child is. Not only this study, but research from different countries also show that social service systems are usually bureaucratic and fail to acknowledge mothers’ personal needs as women or provide effective services based on understanding and empathy.
The main research question is how mothers experience formal and informal support. The aim is to contribute to the knowledge on mothers’ social support needs. CSA literature overlooks that mothers also need support to cope with the deleterious effects of abuse, and to help their children. This study relates to and is influenced by feminist research on motherhood.
In her dissertation, Serin analyses social support from the perspective of mothers in their relationships with family members, community and social services. Serin interviewed women in North Cyprus whose children had been sexually abused.
The mothers resided in socially and economically impoverished neighbourhoods and experienced social pressure in a predominantly male-centred and patriarchal environment. Such constraining situations impacted their actions and choices. However, they discovered different avenues to express their agency, particularly in their capacity as mothers.
“I discovered that their needs were primarily child-centred, and they frequently experienced a lack of both formal and informal support after the abuse disclosure,” Serin comments.
The results emphasize mothers’ needs to receive assistance as individuals, apart from their role as caregivers. Long-term financial and therapeutic support and free child day-care services were their most urgent needs.
In conclusion, there is an urgent need to improve women’s social support network with the collaboration of the public and professionals. We need to understand the significance of hearing women’s stories and implement feminist social work policies. Moreover, public must learn how to openly talk about child sexual abuse. Only then, it will be possible to break the chain of fear and silence, associated with male hegemony.
Hanife Serin will defend her doctoral dissertation “Non-abusing mothers’ experiences of social support after child sexual abuse disclosure: the case of North Cyprus” on Saturday 13.12.2025 at 12:00 in the Old Assembly Hall S212, Seminarium-building. Opponent is Associate professor, dosent, YTT Anna Nikupeteri (University of Lapland) and custos is professor Marjo Kuronen.
Event is in English.
The research can be read in JYX archive.
The dissertation event can be attended online.
For further information:
Hanife Serin
