A Capacity Building Process for Women with a History of Child Sexual Abuse

Abstract

We report the research process used to promote the capacity of women made homeless by the consequences of addictions to alcohol, drugs or gambling, that are considered the result of being sexually abused as children. We aimed to improve the capacity of service providers working with this client group. We used the participatory action research (PAR) process "Look, Think, Act", employed by Stringer (1999; Stringer & Genet, 2004). "Looking" involved building a picture of the issue based on available information. Participants described what was going on so a clear picture of the context emerged. "Thinking" was the clarification phase where meanings and feelings generated by the experience were explored. It involved sense-making questions such as, "What is happening and why? How am I feeling about this?" The aim was to understand the when, what, where and how of the experience. After describing the issues the women were invited to think about what they could do about the issue. "Acting" (a difficult phase), involved effecting change. Action required involvement with the situation. It was a new skill for many women as they had become disengaged with their lives. They were encouraged to choose actions that moved them towards chosen goals. Many women had become so disempowered they ignored their needs and had few hopes or aspirations. We encouraged them to take the smallest and most easily managed actions likely to have the most benefit for their wellbeing. The process and the outcomes are described in this paper.