Sexual Abuse in Childhood workshops provide an insight into: Processes that take place within the victim / client, effects of sexual violence in the victim’s later life, and processes happening in the relationship between the therapist/helper and the client. The contents of the workshop are logically connected so that the final result is enabling participants to deal with this issue, as well as training the professionals to approach the client / victim in an appropriate manner.

Participants are given an overview of the cultural, religious and moral aspects of the concept of sexual assault, sexual abuse symptoms, defense mechanisms of the victim (with the emphasis on dissociation and parentification), personality profiles of abusers, profiles of mothers of victims, transference and counter transference processes that are present in the helper/client relationship, and the impact they have on the work with the client/victim. Participants are also given direct information about the regulations, procedures for ascertaining the crimes and work with victims, from a professional staff member of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Tuzla Canton, the Department for Juvenile Delinquency and Domestic Violence.

The Sexual Abuse in Childhood workshops motive participants to reconsider their own attitudes and values about sexuality, restrictions and taboos that are imbued with it, and the influence these have on their own lives and in their professional work with clients. Education conducted in this manner results in changing myths and misconceptions professionals might have had about sexual abuse of children as well as expansion of their own perceptions. Disseminating information about this issue into the professional and private environments of professionals leads to addressing and preventing this problem in our society.