AASW Older Persons Series: Working with older Adult Survivors of Childhood Sexual Assault: Seeking to understand CSA from a Contextual and Trauma-sensitive practice

Live Online Workshop

Capability Level: Emerging, Evolving and Established

As Social workers, Allied health professionals, healthcare workers, and Carers we are likely to encounter older people who are needing support with many complex health issues. When we view the statistics of Childhood Sexual Abuse (CSA) in adults, we view those statistics and then add all the older people who present with often complex health needs and issues who may never have disclosed the abuse. Childhood trauma is often the underlying issue for older people who present with a range of physical and mental health conditions including substance abuse, challenging behaviours, eating issues, and self-harming behaviour. This workshop aims to provide the ‘get it’ moments and understanding.

The workshop will provide foundational knowledge and skills regarding delivering best practice skills and strategies when working with older people who have survived childhood sexual assault. It will explore the definitions, indicators, tactics, dynamics and the ongoing legacies specific to the ageing ‘survivors’. It will identify the barriers and enablers for disclosure by older people and consider best practice responses to their first steps of breaking their silence and consider the ongoing support for older ‘survivors’.

In addition, the workshop will also explore the gender differences in the long-term impacts of CSA and seek to provide a greater understanding of these differences in the older population. By gaining an understanding of this often-neglected need in older people, we can equip ourselves with the knowledge that will provide effective support and strategies, inform, and contribute to studies and policies for our ageing population that will support older ‘survivors’ to improve health issues and gain better health outcomes for their future.

Who should attend?

Attendees may be new and emerging social workers working with older people, or family and carers. Those further along in their careers may be considering a social work role in an aged-related setting, or work with older clients, or sexual violence field and want to be prepared for this type of work and understand the services and systems available.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this program, participants will be able to:

• Outline child sexual assault dynamics and tactics.
• Identify age-related issues and the crossover of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) and how that can impact health, mental health, and wellbeing.
• Demonstrate enhanced knowledge and skills for workers when identifying the connection between older person’s struggles and the existence of complex trauma as a child.
• Understand the context of CSA in older people and the impact of CSA in gender differences.
• Applying the Principles of Sensitive Practice and trauma-informed approach and exploring the challenges of disclosure of CSA in older people.

AASW Credentials: Older Persons & Mental Health