Conversing with ‘monsters’? Narratives about men who sexually abuse(d) children

Young-Hauser, Amanda Maria

Conversing with ‘monsters’? Narratives about men who sexually abuse(d) children

dc.contributor.advisor	Hodgetts, Darrin
dc.contributor.advisor	Coleborne, Catharine
dc.contributor.author	Young-Hauser, Amanda Maria
dc.date.accessioned	2010-08-27T04:41:54Z
dc.date.available	2010-08-27T04:41:54Z
dc.date.issued	2010
dc.date.updated	2010-08-26T04:26:43Z
dc.description.abstract	This research has examined multiperspectival narratives told about and by men who sexually abuse(d) children. Drawing on institutional, public and private narratives, I have explored how men who sexually abuse(d) children are characterised, how meanings about these men are created, and how their reintegrative prospects are understood. The project has encompassed five research elements: historical narratives evident in archival materials; media narratives evident in news articles; public discourse reflected in five focus groups; the accounts of support people of men who sexually abused reflected in one focus group; and the stories of ten men imprisoned for sexually abusing children elicited through pre-release and post-release conversations. These multiple levels of narration have allowed me to look within and across these settings to establish links and to demarcate points of convergence and departure of these diverse narratives. Results have suggested a mismatch between narratives about men who offend(ed) with those evident in the stories of support persons and the men themselves. The latter are anchored in, but contest the former; in particular the narrow representations of these men as inherently evil and not rehabilitatable. Subtle disruptions that question commonly held assumptions about men who sexually abuse(d) children and tell of alternative possibilities are evident in some narratives. My research shows that narratives can accumulate and reinforce assumptions over time and in many respects be discriminatory and exclusionary as well as being liberatory, enveloped in healing and open to change. By locating these men in their social environment and contextualising the crime, I examine the issues of child sex abuse from various angles. This research offers a more inclusive perspective on men who offend(ed) against children that can contribute to broadening public dialogue regarding the characterizations of these men, issues of community reintegration and repairing people’s lives.	en_NZ
dc.format.mimetype	application/pdf
dc.identifier.citation	Young-Hauser, A. M. (2010). Conversing with ‘monsters’? Narratives about men who sexually abuse(d) children (Thesis, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)). University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10289/4450	en
dc.identifier.uri	https://hdl.handle.net/10289/4450
dc.language.iso	en
dc.publisher	University of Waikato	en_NZ
dc.rights	All items in Research Commons are provided for private study and research purposes and are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated.
dc.subject	child sexual abuse	en_NZ
dc.subject	narrative research	en_NZ
dc.subject	history	en_NZ
dc.subject	media	en_NZ
dc.subject	focus groups	en_NZ
dc.subject	reintegration	en_NZ
dc.subject	social exclusion	en_NZ
dc.subject	transformative processes	en_NZ
dc.subject	selfhood	en_NZ
dc.title	Conversing with ‘monsters’? Narratives about men who sexually abuse(d) children	en_NZ
dc.type	Thesis	en_NZ
pubs.place-of-publication	Hamilton, New Zealand	en_NZ
thesis.degree.grantor	University of Waikato
thesis.degree.level	Doctoral
thesis.degree.name	Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)	en_NZ