Factors contributing to a mother’s ability to recognise incestuous abuse of her child

Factors contributing to a mother's ability to recognise incestuous abuse of her child

Identification of sexual abuse of a child by their father, or father figure, can result in considerable anger being directed at the mother who failed to recognise the incestuous abuse of her child. Often there is an unwillingness to accept that mothers can be unaware of such ongoing abuse within the family, expressed in terms of she should, or must have known. This paper reports on research conducted with mothers of incestuously abused children to identify factors which contribute to a mother's nonawareness, focusing particularly on the spousal relationship and the impact of domestic violence.