title: Living with the Aftermath of Male Child Sexual Abuse

authors: Coveny, Doris

subjects: Child sexual abuse

abstract: Child sexual abuse (CSA) in boys has been shown to have long lasting and devastating effects on men's lives. Negative health outcomes such as anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, poor social skills, destructive lifestyles, and mistrust towards others are only a few of the reported after-effects. Research of CSA is largely focused on girls and women, leaving a relative shortage on men. This qualitative study attempts to add to the dearth of literature in this field by reporting findings from narrative interviews with men who were sexually abused as children. The aim was to investigate how men reconciled their early experiences of CSA with everyday life and their relationships with others. Seven participants of New Zealand European and one participant of Māori descent participated in a loosely structured conversational interview. The study was guided by narrative theory and social constructionist epistemology using thematic narrative analysis to interpret the data. The findings are discussed within seven overarching themes: Shame, guilt, and lost self-identities illustrates how survivors of CSA can become very isolated due to their internalised feelings of inferiority and self-blame.  The participants' inability to share their experiences alienated them from others as much as themselves, which ultimately affected their sense of belonging. CSA instilled feelings of self-loathing and inadequacy as well as it fostered low self-esteem and led to the loss of their self-identity. Anger and hurt - a kind of death/an empty shell highlights the expression of heightened anger resulting from their experiences and isolation. Participants appeared confused, lost and empty without aspirations or hopes for the future. It describes a long process of regaining meaning in life, which some men found in fatherhood despite its challenges. Escaping the pain describes the men's emotional and physical turmoil, which triggered attempts to forget past events. Many participants engaged in violence and substance use, tried to become someone else, or end their life. Damage boils over talks about the participants' memories of their CSA experiences and the associated effects on their daily lives. It demonstrates how CSA can affect men's emotional stability and reactions when situations become too distressing. Mistrust - a place of safety summarises participants' feelings of mistrust towards others and their difficulty to accept forms of authority. It highlights CSA's potential aftermath in regards to interpersonal and romantic relationships as well as over protectiveness towards children.  Social norms and barriers to disclosure discusses the difficulties surrounding disclosure of CSA, spanning both childhood and adulthood. Further, it shows how social norms such as hegemonic masculinity can influence outcomes. From missed opportunities to healing describes regrets about perceived undeveloped talents, educational opportunities, or loss of family. The theme shows how coping mechanisms helped to navigate life and describes the benefits of counselling.

text: Living with the Aftermath of Male Child Sexual Abuse Child sexual abuse (CSA) in boys has been shown to have long lasting and devastating effects on men's lives. Negative health outcomes such as anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, poor social skills, destructive lifestyles, and mistrust towards others are only a few of the reported after-effects. Research of CSA is largely focused on girls and women, leaving a relative shortage on men. This qualitative study attempts to add to the dearth of literature in this field by reporting findings from narrative interviews with men who were sexually abused as children. The aim was to investigate how men reconciled their early experiences of CSA with everyday life and their relationships with others. Seven participants of New Zealand European and one participant of Māori descent participated in a loosely structured conversational interview. The study was guided by narrative theory and social constructionist epistemology using thematic narrative analysis to interpret the data. The findings are discussed within seven overarching themes: Shame, guilt, and lost self-identities illustrates how survivors of CSA can become very isolated due to their internalised feelings of inferiority and self-blame.  The participants' inability to share their experiences alienated them from others as much as themselves, which ultimately affected their sense of belonging. CSA instilled feelings of self-loathing and inadequacy as well as it fostered low self-esteem and led to the loss of their self-identity. Anger and hurt - a kind of death/an empty shell highlights the expression of heightened anger resulting from their experiences and isolation. Participants appeared confused, lost and empty without aspirations or hopes for the future. It describes a long process of regaining meaning in life, which some men found in fatherhood despite its challenges. Escaping the pain describes the men's emotional and physical turmoil, which triggered attempts to forget past events. Many participants engaged in violence and substance use, tried to become someone else, or end their life. Damage boils over talks about the participants' memories of their CSA experiences and the associated effects on their daily lives. It demonstrates how CSA can affect men's emotional stability and reactions when situations become too distressing. Mistrust - a place of safety summarises participants' feelings of mistrust towards others and their difficulty to accept forms of authority. It highlights CSA's potential aftermath in regards to interpersonal and romantic relationships as well as over protectiveness towards children.  Social norms and barriers to disclosure discusses the difficulties surrounding disclosure of CSA, spanning both childhood and adulthood. Further, it shows how social norms such as hegemonic masculinity can influence outcomes. From missed opportunities to healing describes regrets about perceived undeveloped talents, educational opportunities, or loss of family. The theme shows how coping mechanisms helped to navigate life and describes the benefits of counselling.

year: 2017

title: The Solution to the problem of the individuation of actions

authors: Jones, Donald Robert

abstract: How many possible answers are there to the problem of the individuation of actions? In this dissertation I shall confine myself to but two answers. I will not state categorically that there are no other lines of approach to the problem. I am, however, reasonably confident that no other line is at all feasible and that no one has formulated one. There is the possibility of blending the two answers with which I shall deal, but such a blending would at best be mere temporising. It should become obvious that the two answers are mutually antagonistic and that no such blending could be convincingly defended.

text: The Solution to the problem of the individuation of actions How many possible answers are there to the problem of the individuation of actions? In this dissertation I shall confine myself to but two answers. I will not state categorically that there are no other lines of approach to the problem. I am, however, reasonably confident that no other line is at all feasible and that no one has formulated one. There is the possibility of blending the two answers with which I shall deal, but such a blending would at best be mere temporising. It should become obvious that the two answers are mutually antagonistic and that no such blending could be convincingly defended.

year: 1973

title: Te Mana Motuhake o Ngāi Tamarāwaho and the challenges of education. Whakapūmautia te tangata i tōna ake mana

authors: Woller, Paul Robert

subjects: Ngāi Tamarāwaho

abstract: Throughout history, colonisation has deliberately suppressed and subordinated the knowledge, languages and identities of indigenous peoples. Colonial education policies were designed, at best, to domesticate indigenous children to create subjugated and compliant labouring classes.  These historical policies have intentionally consigned successive generations of indigenous families and communities to the socio-economic margins of the societies created by colonisation (Shields, Bishop & Masawi, 2005).
This thesis explores the intergenerational educational experiences of Ngāi Tamarāwaho, an indigenous Māori community in New Zealand, their relationship with Pākehā (colonial settlers of European descent) and their place, as Māori, in the society created by colonialism.  At the heart of this story is the inter-generational societal abuse of a small indigenous community and the active resistance of that community to colonisation. To survive as a people, Ngāi Tamarāwaho created a space at the intercultural interface between Māori and Pākehā by maintaining and revitalising their cultural identity and language. The intergenerational struggles of the whānau (families) of Ngāi Tamarāwaho, to engage with an imposed system of western education, are related through the narratives of hapū whānau (sub-tribal families) and from archival records. These stories demonstrate that educational failure was not because of the limitations of hapū whānau, but rather a result of the limiting conditions imposed on them. 
Despite these limitations, over the past 180 years, hapū leadership has focussed on maintaining the independent identity of the hapū and their mana motuhake, i.e. their right to be self-determining; seen as critical for whānau and hapū development and successful participation in wider society. To enable the success of future generations, Ngāi Tamarāwaho have accommodated new ideas and learning into their existing cultural framework by weaving together elements of learning from both Māori and Pākehā funds of knowledge. This hapū story has implications for current education settings intended to engage indigenous and minority students in learning and improve academic achievement. Strong cultural identities, and the ability to be self-determining, promote indigenous students’ self-esteem and the confidence to accommodate new learning into their existing cultural frameworks, thereby providing a platform for education success.

text: Te Mana Motuhake o Ngāi Tamarāwaho and the challenges of education. Whakapūmautia te tangata i tōna ake mana Throughout history, colonisation has deliberately suppressed and subordinated the knowledge, languages and identities of indigenous peoples. Colonial education policies were designed, at best, to domesticate indigenous children to create subjugated and compliant labouring classes.  These historical policies have intentionally consigned successive generations of indigenous families and communities to the socio-economic margins of the societies created by colonisation (Shields, Bishop & Masawi, 2005).
This thesis explores the intergenerational educational experiences of Ngāi Tamarāwaho, an indigenous Māori community in New Zealand, their relationship with Pākehā (colonial settlers of European descent) and their place, as Māori, in the society created by colonialism.  At the heart of this story is the inter-generational societal abuse of a small indigenous community and the active resistance of that community to colonisation. To survive as a people, Ngāi Tamarāwaho created a space at the intercultural interface between Māori and Pākehā by maintaining and revitalising their cultural identity and language. The intergenerational struggles of the whānau (families) of Ngāi Tamarāwaho, to engage with an imposed system of western education, are related through the narratives of hapū whānau (sub-tribal families) and from archival records. These stories demonstrate that educational failure was not because of the limitations of hapū whānau, but rather a result of the limiting conditions imposed on them. 
Despite these limitations, over the past 180 years, hapū leadership has focussed on maintaining the independent identity of the hapū and their mana motuhake, i.e. their right to be self-determining; seen as critical for whānau and hapū development and successful participation in wider society. To enable the success of future generations, Ngāi Tamarāwaho have accommodated new ideas and learning into their existing cultural framework by weaving together elements of learning from both Māori and Pākehā funds of knowledge. This hapū story has implications for current education settings intended to engage indigenous and minority students in learning and improve academic achievement. Strong cultural identities, and the ability to be self-determining, promote indigenous students’ self-esteem and the confidence to accommodate new learning into their existing cultural frameworks, thereby providing a platform for education success.

year: 2016