On the possibility of forgiveness in child sexual abuse

Abstract Whether or not it is appropriate to offer victims the possibility of working on forgiveness to overcome the pain of the lived experience and its consequences is a controversial issue. The pressure to forgive makes revictimization more likely and transmits guilt and a message of minimizing the victims' pain. A misunderstanding of forgiveness can further weaken the victim's ability to protect him- or herself, make him or her more vulnerable, and make it easier for the abuse to continue. This paper aims to review the conditions for forgiveness to be a psychological tool for the mental health of the victims. Forgiveness is a complex concept with multiple dimensions and possibilities, and it can offer victims a valuable resource for overcoming their pain. However, it is not essential to the victim's healing process.

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Main Author: Prieto-Ursúa,María
Format: Digital revista
Language:English
Published: Consejo General de Colegios Oficiales de Psicólogos 2023
Online Access:https://scielo.isciii.es/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0214-78232023000100028
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spelling oai:scielo:S0214-782320230001000282023-07-24On the possibility of forgiveness in child sexual abusePrieto-Ursúa,María Forgiveness Child sexual abuse Reconciliation Abstract Whether or not it is appropriate to offer victims the possibility of working on forgiveness to overcome the pain of the lived experience and its consequences is a controversial issue. The pressure to forgive makes revictimization more likely and transmits guilt and a message of minimizing the victims' pain. A misunderstanding of forgiveness can further weaken the victim's ability to protect him- or herself, make him or her more vulnerable, and make it easier for the abuse to continue. This paper aims to review the conditions for forgiveness to be a psychological tool for the mental health of the victims. Forgiveness is a complex concept with multiple dimensions and possibilities, and it can offer victims a valuable resource for overcoming their pain. However, it is not essential to the victim's healing process.Consejo General de Colegios Oficiales de PsicólogosPapeles del Psicólogo v.44 n.1 20232023-04-01journal articletext/htmlhttps://scielo.isciii.es/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0214-78232023000100028en
institution SCIELO
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country España
countrycode ES
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databasecode rev-scielo-es
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region Europa del Sur
libraryname SciELO
language English
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author Prieto-Ursúa,María
spellingShingle Prieto-Ursúa,María
On the possibility of forgiveness in child sexual abuse
author_facet Prieto-Ursúa,María
author_sort Prieto-Ursúa,María
title On the possibility of forgiveness in child sexual abuse
title_short On the possibility of forgiveness in child sexual abuse
title_full On the possibility of forgiveness in child sexual abuse
title_fullStr On the possibility of forgiveness in child sexual abuse
title_full_unstemmed On the possibility of forgiveness in child sexual abuse
title_sort on the possibility of forgiveness in child sexual abuse
description Abstract Whether or not it is appropriate to offer victims the possibility of working on forgiveness to overcome the pain of the lived experience and its consequences is a controversial issue. The pressure to forgive makes revictimization more likely and transmits guilt and a message of minimizing the victims' pain. A misunderstanding of forgiveness can further weaken the victim's ability to protect him- or herself, make him or her more vulnerable, and make it easier for the abuse to continue. This paper aims to review the conditions for forgiveness to be a psychological tool for the mental health of the victims. Forgiveness is a complex concept with multiple dimensions and possibilities, and it can offer victims a valuable resource for overcoming their pain. However, it is not essential to the victim's healing process.
publisher Consejo General de Colegios Oficiales de Psicólogos
publishDate 2023
url https://scielo.isciii.es/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0214-78232023000100028
work_keys_str_mv AT prietoursuamaria onthepossibilityofforgivenessinchildsexualabuse
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