Inscribed Bodies : Health Impact of Childhood Sexual Abuse

This book contributes to an overall understanding of the nature and the impact of sexual boundary violations. By exploring an extreme human experience, childhood sexual abuse, the present study allows an insight into a hidden, silenced, and destructive aspect of human relations. It is the first of its kind to make comprehensible both the general path from violation to sickness, and the particular logic of assault embodiment. Due to its theoretical and methodological framework, the present study provides evidence that the embodiment of sexual violation experience is informed by situated logic and rationality. These, however, do not correspond to scientific logic and rationality. The universe of socio-culturally constituted meaning and that of scientifically constructed knowledge are shown to be incompatible. Subjectively informed violation embodiment is likely to be misinterpreted and consequently maltreated within the objectively grounded framework of current biomedical praxis. Consequently, victims of silenced sexual violence are revictimized by medicine.