MORAL DIMENSIONS OF CHILD ABUSE: BASIS FOR A PASTORAL PROGRAM
PUBLISHED IN AD SAPIENTIAM VOLUME VIII 2013, COPYRIGHT: ISSN 2012-290X
ERIC ALACAPA VISTA
ABSTRACT
This research explored the lived experiences of sexually abused children and the circumstances affecting their sexual experience as the basis for a pastoral program that would empower and protect children in the Diocese of Bacolod. Two major questions were investigated namely: What are the lived experiences of the sexually abused children? What are the circumstances of the children’s sexual experience? Data were gathered through in-depth interviews with eight female children, within a 35- day period. The interview generated data in the form of full verbatim responses which were analyzed to identify key themes. On the lived experiences of the sexually abused children, 14 themes were identified namely: 1) The children realized the abuse later; 2) They realized the abuse through others; 3) They hide the abuse for fear of their life; 4) Only when they feel pressured that they confess; 5) The abused children easily get angry; 6) They have difficulty with relationships; 7) The experiences of abuse awakened their faith; 8) The children became closer to God through prayer and gospel reading; 9) The children help build a family atmosphere by helping other victim of sexual abuse in their institution; 10) They learned to give thanks; 11) They have experienced loss of self-worth; 12) They demand justice; 13) They cherish the care and support, work assignments and education provided by the institution; and 14) They plan to finish a college degree. For the question on the circumstances of the sexual experience, the following were the emergent themes: 1) The sexually abused children have absentee mothers; 2) The perpetrators are family members; 3) Family disbelief; and 4) A distant relative helped the child. A proposed pastoral program to be initiated by Colegio San Agustin-Bacolod was developed to gradually empower the sexually abused children.