Because of the title, I want to start off by clarifying what this book is and isn’t. This is a book about child sexual abuse (CSA). It’s not a book that claims adult/minor sexual contact (AMSC) isn’t harmful, the author makes her stance against all AMSC very clear. It’s a book that focuses on where the harm of CSA comes from – through research and through talking directly to victims. The conclusion is that the harm is found primarily in the aftermath of the abuse, rather than being caused during the act itself, as its happening.
In condensing the book down to the most informative (in my opinion) parts, I’ve left out a lot of valuable information. There’s a lot of interesting and compelling information which isn’t included here, including some impactful statements from the victims interviewed by Clancy. The purpose of these excerpts is trying to make the information more accessible to people who struggle with focusing on long texts. I’m also hoping this will help spread awareness for where the harm of CSA comes from, and how we should alter our language to reflect it. It’s hard to combat a widespread narrative like the trauma myth without easily accessible information on how it’s inaccurate and harmful.
I recommend buying the book if you can to support the author’s work. If you can’t, the full book can be found on Anna’s Archive.
The even shorter summary, if you want it: In order to get child sexual abuse taken seriously, feminists, child-protection advocates, and some psychologists, ignored the complicated nature of CSA to make a connection to PTSD. This was (by their intentions) to help victims, but because CSA doesn’t actually fit the trauma model (the premise for PTSD) this has resulted in victim’s actual experiences being ignored and outright suppressed. It’s led to victim’s feeling like there’s something wrong with them because the story that’s accepted as a factual standard in society is not true to their actual experiences. This also means victims don’t actually receive the kind of support they need to recover, and many keep silent for life.