ETIOLOGY OF THE SEXUAL ABUSE OF CHILDREN - AN EXTENDED FEMINIST PERSPECTIVE

This article presents a feminist perspective on child sexual abuse. Th e existing feminist contribution to an understanding of child sexual a buse is outlined. This perspective considers child sexual abuse to be an expression of male supremacy inherent in patriarchy. Tt offers an e xplanation of the means by which patriarchy provides males with the so cial opportunity to commit child Sexual abuse. It fails, however, to a dequately explain what motivates some males to take advantage of this opportunity. This weakness is then addressed by extending the existing feminist perspective to include an examination of the social construc tion of masculinity, including male sexual socialization. It is argued that patriarchy provides the social opportunity to abuse: the social construction of masculinity provides the motivation for abuse; and mal e sexual socialization provides the direction for expression of the mo tivation. Considered together they provide an extended feminist theory of the aetiology of child sexual abuse. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd .