A qualitative investigation on the subjective experiences of the mothers who have sexually abused girls by their fathers

Violence against children is a violation of human rights. Also it could affect the child through short and / or long-term. Exposure to violence not only affects the child, but also has the possibility of affecting other individuals in the family. Within the scope of this thesis, it is aimed to investigate the subjective experiences of the mothers of girls who are exposed to sexual abuse within the family. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with three mothers, who were girls who were subjected to sexual abuse by their fathers. In these interviews, answers were sought for questions including mothers' current suspicions before the exploitation was exposed, their emotional and behavioral responses after the exploitation was exposed, the areas of difficulty they had experienced during this process and their observations about their children. The data obtained from the interview were evaluated by Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). As a result of the analysisof the top themes, (1) The existing risk factors that underpin the abuse (sub-themes: Domestic violence before sexual abuse, Lower support from close members of the family of the mothers (family root), Marriage without woman's approval, The child is seen as the savior of marriage , Judgments and attributions related with women and spouse role); (2) Emergence of abuse (sub-themes : The mother's suspicious process: Could this be true?, Threats that prevent forensic processes from starting and One of the reasons for the child to hide abuse: Don't worry my mom); (3) Being a mother in the process of abuse (sub-themes: "Feelings of mothers during abuse", "Mothers' efforts to protect themselves and their children" and " Effect of the abuse experience to mothers' health)"; (4)Emergent psychological problems in the child during this period from the mother's perspective ; (5) Factors that make the process difficult after the abusive experience disclosures (sub-themes: Lack of social and institutional support, Insecurity to the system and Difficulty and length of the legal process). The findings are discussed in line with the literature. Key Words: Father- daughter incest, intrafamilial sexual abuse, being a mother in the process of abuse, interpretative phenomenological analysis, qualitative analysis