Supporting children who have experienced sexual abuse

In this episode, we are joined by Sophie McEvoy, a therapist and team leader working with the Child Sexual Abuse Counselling Service and Rebuild Counselling for Victims of Crime at Relationships Australia South Australia (RASA). Sophie talks about her work with children who have experienced sexual abuse and their parents. This includes ways to help children move past feelings of shame and self-blame that are often entrenched by perpetrators.  

Sophie describes her practice in helping children to use their own words, communication preferences and meaning-making to describe the trauma events in their lives in ways that are supportive and hopeful. She also talks about how non-specialist practitioners can support children to describe their experiences of sexual abuse and violence. 

Throughout the conversation, Sophie draws on her experiences at RASA, in the adult mental health sector, and in the family and domestic violence sector, where she worked with both victims and perpetrators of sexual and physical violence. She also shares her insights from working with non-offending parents to support their children’s recovery from abuse. 

Content warning:  

This episode discusses practices to support children who have experienced sexual abuse. Please keep your own wellbeing in mind as you listen and seek support from your manager, supervisor, mental health professional or one of these crisis or support services if needed. 

In this episode you will learn about:   

• how self-blame, shame and anxiety might be affecting children when meeting with a professional for the first time  [2:09]

• strategies to talk to children about their experiences of sexual abuse without causing distress [7:20]

• using resistance and response-based practice to ensure children’s stories of resilience, protection and know-how are brought into focus [14:24]

• how non-specialist practitioners can create opportunities for children to describe ways they might feel unsafe [16:39]

• ways to speak with parents about supporting their children to overcome the effects of sexual abuse [22:21]

Related Emerging Minds resources  

Supporting children who disclose trauma (online course) 

Supporting children who have experienced trauma (online course) 

Working with children to prevent self-blame after disclosures of child sexual abuse (practice paper)