Non-abusing mothers’ formal support needs after child sexual abuse disclosure : the case of North Cyprus

Abstract

This article investigates the formal support needs of mothers whose child has been sexually abused. Previous research has focused mostly on the provision of support for abused children to the relative neglect of mothers’ support needs. Here, formal support refers to resources and services from organisations, professionals and authorities, with a specific focus on social welfare services. This article is based on a thematic analysis of semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 15 non-abusing mothers in North Cyprus. Analysis of the mothers’ experiences revealed needs of support in four important domains: financial support; child day-care services and social facilities for children and adults; therapeutic services; and improved public knowledge about and trust in social services. Mothers often lacked knowledge about social services and their most common encounter with the social welfare system concerned financial assistance. The results showed that the social welfare system in North Cyprus is highly bureaucratic, children's long-term needs are usually unmet, and mothers’ needs are often ignored by professionals. In sum, developing the quality of social welfare services is vital for sexually abused children and their non-abusing family members, especially mothers.