A Hermeneutic Inquiry Concerning Females and Males Perceptions of their Childhood Sexual Abuse (CSA) Experiences

Abstract

This is a hermeneutic inquiry regarding whether males or females perceive their child sexual abuse similarly or differently. A purposeful sample of eight people, four males and four females of different ages, participated in individual interviews over a period of six months. Findings indicated that both males and females have many similarities, many of which are focused on their internal processes. The internal process that both experience include that the child sexual abuse fractures their souls. The process to grow around the fracture or to bring the fracture together occurs through a winding process with each step feels like they are being torn between two opposites for example between worthlessness and worth. The gender differences came from environmental expectations. Keywords: child sexual abuse, gender, males, females, qualitative, hermeneutic