A narrative practical theological perspective on the spirituality of female adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse

Abstract

This is a narrative practical theological perspective on the spirituality of adult, female survivors of childhood sexual abuse. Two questions were asked: first, how is meaning made of traumatic experiences, specifically childhood sexual abuse (CSA)? Second, what is the role of spirituality in this process? Spirituality cannot be examined in isolation, and neither can CSA. The context of the story must be taken into consideration. In this study, the context is the Afrikaner, Dutch Reformed community. Epistemologically, the decision was made to work from a postfoundational, social constructionist perspective. This supports the research design, which is based on narrative, practical theological principles, as influenced by feminist and body theology. A single case study was conducted, using unstructured and semi-structured interviews, emails, and poetry. In this iterative design, emphasis was placed on the co-researcher’s voice, and her input governed the researcher’s choices. The narrative revealed five areas of focus: abuse, identity, her mother, God and faith, and the interrelationship between these. Furthermore, some unique outcomes were identified. This story was presented to a team of three transdisciplinary co-researchers: an occupational therapist, a psychologist, and a Dutch Reformed minister. These contributors shared their ideas with the researcher and the co-researcher, who also gave feedback. A literature review was based on the five areas of focus, the unique outcomes, and the input received from the co-researcher and the transdisciplinary contributors. It was found that it became increasingly difficult to describe spirituality as a discrete concept, as it is intricately bound into the co-researcher’s story: this includes body stories, mind stories, spirit stories, stories of relationships and the community, and stories about God. All of these are in constant interaction, and influence one another. As such, time was spent exploring the interrelationships between these stories, and coming to a better understanding of the self as embodied, emergent and multiple. A proposal is made for narrative transversality as a means for exploring the interactions between stories. Finally, questions are raised about the language of the self, as well as about the gaps in research about women and children in the Dutch Reformed Church.