The objective of this article is to discuss the characteristics of mothers of children who are victims of sexual abuse, covering aspects such as emotional reconciliation, multigenerational characteristics and maternal reactions to the disclosure. Child sexual abuse is considered to be a public health problem and its consequences have been a focus of interest of many researchers. However, few studies have been devoted to exploring the maternal characteristics involved in this complex cycle of violence. In general, mothers of sexually abused children are not depicted as perpetrators of the abuse, but in some way they find themselves involved, either as victims of or witnesses to this situation. On the other hand, many factors influence the mothers' reactions when faced with the revelation of the abuse, such as the perceptions of the social support service and the mothers' personality traits, amongst others. Research has demonstrated the continuity of violence from generation to generation, pointing to the need for longitudinal studies on child sexual abuse.
Child abuse; Mothers; Personality traits; Sexual abuse