Speaking about the unspeakable: exploring the impact of mother-daughter sexual abuse

Abstract

By embarking on multiple interviews with eight survivors (a total of 29 interviews), this article examines the impact of maternal sexual abuse on daughters. Although it is important to recognize the abuse that women lived through, it tells little about their struggles. Thus, as a way to honor the lives of the women interviewed, I have chosen to follow the model of Liz Kelly (1988), who focuses on the impact of sexual abuse in terms of coping, resisting, and surviving. Findings suggest that the impact of mother-daughter sexual abuse on survivors is particularly profound and experiences of maternal violence are often fraught with disbelief.