Recovered memories of child sexual abuse—it is possible

Op-Ed (unpublished)
Linda M. Williams
February 7, 2005

Though some researchers question the legitimacy of recovered memories of child sexual abuse—contending that these memories are often falsely created—many studies support the conclusion that some men and women who suffered childhood sexual abuse initially forget the experience but go on to recover their memories in adulthood. One such study, Linda Williams’ prospective longitudinal research on the experiences of men and women with documented cases of sexual abuse in childhood, supports recovered memories as true and valid. Young children, who in the 1970’s were treated in emergency rooms for sexual abuse, were interviewed 17-20 years later—answering standard screening questions about child sexual abuse. Thirty-eight percent of the women and fifty-five percent of the men did not appear, at the time of the interview, to recall the previously documented child sexual abuse.  Read more

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