Working with women in Turkey exposed to childhood sexual abuse.

OBJECTIVE: Sexual abuse of children is an important public health issue. The aim of this study was to provide a multidimensional examination of women over the age of 18 who were exposed to sexual abuse in childhood and the effect of this abuse on their lives.

DESIGN AND SAMPLE: This qualitative study was conducted over the period June 2015-February 2017. Twenty-three women were gathered by the snowball sampling method.

MEASURES: We collected the data using a semi-structured questionnaire and in-depth interviews. Content analysis was used in the evaluation of the data.

RESULTS: We found five themes that participants considered to result from their sexual abuse: emotional effects, sexuality, marriage, academic, and social aspects.

CONCLUSION: Sexual abuse adversely affected the physical, psychological, and social lives of individuals. Public health nurses play a role in working with women who were exposed to sexual abuse in childhood.