Fathers of sexually abused children suffer from anxiety, grief and depression

The preliminary results of a Universite de Montreal study show many fathers of sexually abused children want revenge and express the desire to torture their child’s aggressor. Fathers of sexually abused children can suffer from anxiety, depression and grief and they must get help to deal with their pain.

Preliminary data also provides that the most violent reactions arise when the aggressor is the stepfather of the child, the mother’s new boyfriend or her new husband.

In some cases, fathers’ situation is particularly difficult because the child can reject them because their aggressor was a man, too. These fathers struggle with deep feelings of helplessness and dismissal. On the other hand, an aggression can become an opportunity for advancing a father-child relationship, especially when the father realizes how sustaining such a relationship is in the best interest of their child.