My Body Protests: Childhood Sexual Abuse and the Body

Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is a physical assault upon the body and considered to be a complex traumatic experience affecting both body and mind. Growing evidence indicates that long-term effects of CSA include maladies such as chronic pain and fibromyalgia (FMS). The paper examines the links between trauma and its physical manifestations among CSA women from a rarely applied perspective, namely not viewing CSA women as merely victims of abuse, but rather as capable actors often marginalized by both academia and clinicians. The research demonstrates the utility of the Listening Guide method, a method derived from incorporating psychology, music, and poetry and used in uncovering additional information and knowledge regarding CSA and women's perceptions toward their bodies. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 40 CSA women who experienced CSA and diagnosed with chronic pain or fibromyalgia. The results indicate that the Listening Guide helps explore the voices of the self and the body that are created during the abuse and the direct connection to emotional and physical pain. The study contributes to the ongoing debate on CSA by exploring how CSA impacts on women's bodies and emphasizing women's experiences, dissociation, body and emotional voices, and silences.