Revictimisation of sexually abused children

This chapter takes a developmental approach to understanding the relationship between child sexual abuse (CSA) and later sexual assault in adulthood by a different perpetrator, known as revictimisation (RV). A developmental framework will enhance our understanding of these mechanisms, and has the potential to inform system responses—including forensic approaches—to both CSA and RV across the victims’ lifespans. We will present a review of the developmental psychology framework and its relevance to understanding responses to psychologically traumatic experiences. Next, we will consider existing theories and explanatory models of revictimisation. Drawing upon tenets from developmental psychology and existing theories of CSA-RV mechanisms, we will present a new model that accounts for the dynamic interactions between the effects of CSA and an individual's ecological context, and their potential contributions to risk for RV across the course of development. Using this model, empirical research about correlates of CSA and RV will be assessed from the developmental perspective. Finally, we will identify the implications of a developmental understanding of CSA and RV for future research and intervention within the forensic, therapeutic, and prevention contexts.