| Summary: | The purpose of this study was to provide an in-depth description of the lived experience of
recovery for young adult women who had been sexually abused as children. Nine women
participated in the study. In order to be a part of the study, the women were between the ages of
16 and 25 at the time of the first interview, and had been sexually abused before the age of 12 by a
family member. Family members could include parents, step-parents, siblings, step-siblings,
grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. The sexual abuse must have been repetitive in nature
and lasted for a period of 6 months or longer. The women had also participated in some type of
therapy, for at least 6 months, where sexual abuse was the primary focus. As well, the women
had some awareness that they were in recovery and were able to talk about their own experience of
recovery.
The interviews and the data analysis followed a phenomenological approach. The
researcher conducted four interviews with each participant over a twenty month period. Ten
common themes representing the lived experience of recovery from sexual abuse for young adult
women emerged. The lived experience of recovery (1) involves working through the denial of
being sexually abused, (2) diminishes the lasting effects of sexual abuse, (3) helps the person
move from a victim stance to a survivor stance, (4) is a journey of self-discovery, (5) fosters the
possibility for improved relationships with family members, friends, and partners, (6) reduces the
negative influence of the perpetrator, (7) encompasses a variety of therapeutic encounters, (8) helps
the person to explore the ambiguity of memory, (9) influences future direction, and (10) is a
complex process with no clear resolution. The descriptions of each theme illustrate how the
women were able to confront and transform the trauma of being sexually abused.
The findings of this study describe how young adult women perceive the lived experience
of recovery and illuminate what needs to take place so that recovery is possible. The lived
experience of recovery is an interactive phenomenon which requires the women to explore the
meaning of recovery both intrapersonally and interpersonally. As the women's thoughts,
perceptions, beliefs, feelings, and expectations change internally, the ways in which they interact
with the world around them shift as well. The lived experience of recovery is both complex and
perplexing. The findings from this study offer recommendations for counselling research and
practice in the area of sexual abuse for young adult women. === Education, Faculty of === Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of === Graduate
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