A word from professionals

“What I really admire is how much strength these mothers have. Honestly, you can learn so much from that. These mothers have been through so much and yet they fight hard for their children. They're so strong.” A mental health psychologist told me this during an interview. She works with mothers who have had a child born of sexual violence.

It is touching to hear how she speaks of these mothers, how she admires them. This professional is aware of the existence of this group of mothers, the suffering they have experienced and the help they need. Unfortunately, many professionals do not (yet) recognise this group of mothers.

Interviews with sixteen professionals, all of whom work with (expectant) mothers, show that many professionals find it difficult to talk about sexual violence. This is because the professionals were sometimes afraid that they would not be able to help the mother or because they could not find the right words to discuss sexual violence. Nevertheless, during the discussions with these professionals it always emerged that it is very important for these mothers and their children to receive appropriate help.

These mothers' problems are often serious and, therefore, professionals themselves struggle to process them. At times when professionals were discussing specific cases, I could see the despair when they told me that they had lost sight of a mother. Many professionals are eager to help, but don't know how. On the other hand, many mothers seek help, but they also don't know where to find it. On this website, we try to bring these two together. By building on the strength of these mothers, we can build a bright future together. Would you like to read more about our interviews with professionals? Read the full article here.

Would you like to read more about how you can talk about a sensitive issue like this as a professional? Read the article in Dutch here.

Eline Meuleman

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