Silenced at Home: Epistemic Injustice and the Symbolic Power of the Patriarchal Family in Child Sexual Abuse

The research hypothesis of this article posits that within the patriarchal family structure, there exists a mechanism of symbolic power that produces epistemic injustice, systematically silencing and disregarding the voices of child victims of sexual abuse. The data used stem from a critical analysis of academic literature indexed in the Scopus database, focusing on studies addressing child sexual abuse in the context of patriarchal families. Data collection involved searching for relevant studies and carefully analyzing the texts using ideas from Pierre Bourdieu about symbolic power, Miranda Fricker about epistemic injustice, and Boaventura de Sousa Santos about epistemicide. Key findings reveal that moral norms emphasizing obedience, sacrifice, and family honor are symbolically employed to justify and conceal sexual abuse, resulting in epistemic silencing that hampers victim recognition and recovery. The analysis of this data highlights the need for a change in child protection systems to recognize victims as valid sources of information and to confront the patriarchal systems that continue cycles of violence and silence. This research provides a foundation for further studies on the relationship between symbolic power and epistemic injustice in child sexual abuse within patriarchal families and supports policy and social change efforts aimed at enhancing child protection.