Trauma and Memory

Several factors combine to make memories of sibling sexual trauma fuzzy or confusing:

Age 

Sibling sexual trauma usually starts when the victim is quite young. Usually the child does not have the words or concepts to understand what is happening to them. Without access to words or categories to encode them, the memories may be lost to conscious memory.

Time Delay 

Sexually inappropriate activity is seldom reported soon after it happens. More often than not, years or even decades pass before the survivor speaks of it to anyone else. 

Trauma 

People of all ages remember traumatic events in a different way than all other life experiences or learning. Memories of trauma tend to be:

• Detached The memory may emerge in ”snapshots” rather than “movies.”

• Sensory-based The sounds, smells and touch of the experience loom large, as well as bodily sensations such as nausea, sweaty palms, and even thoughts that entered the mind as it was happening.

• Random Some seemingly irrelevant details may be remembered, even if the person cannot remember more basic information. For example, someone may remember what they had to eat just before an episode of abuse, but not where they were at the time.

• Fragmented Large parts of the memory may be absent, while other parts are remembered in vivid detail.

• Recalled by sensory triggers or later understanding Memories that have been hidden from conscious memory may suddenly emerge in the context of a similar sensory sensation--hearing the sound of a similar door closing, or touch that feels the same. Memories may also be recalled when the ability to understand and code them emerges--for example, in a dream, or when they see a movie depicting sexual foreplay.

Dissociation 

Sexual trauma is so overwhelming, and children are so powerless to escape physically, that many children survive by escaping mentally. Dissociation is a powerful coping mechanism, but it sometimes causes dissociative amnesia. While it is a normal response for traumatic memories to be stored in the subconscious part of the brain for long periods of time, it is rare that an individual will recall sexual abuse that never happened.

Sometimes it is true that the story that the survivor is telling doesn’t add up 100%. Times and places may not match, for example. This happens often for memories of traumatic events, especially childhood sexual abuse. It does not mean the abuse did not take place, or that the survivor is lying. It does not mean the survivor is crazy. Their own memories may be fuzzy and details may emerge over time, especially when the survivor begins to tell their story  and/or goes through the therapy process.

Memories and healing 

A large part of therapy for survivors is creating a safe space where memories can be recalled, faced, and re-filed in ways that allow the survivor to move forward in a mentally healthy way. Therapists’ opinions differ on how much memory is necessary or even advisable in this process. However, there is general agreement that significant progress can be made even if memories remain incomplete and unfocused.

Memories and legal action 

Law enforcement, including both human services and criminal justice authorities, base their actions on legal evidence. Often there is little evidence available in child sexual abuse cases besides the testimony of the person who has reported the harm. Legal authorities must view the reported memories of all parties involved through the lens of potential evidence. This may be in direct conflict with the way therapists treat memories to maximize the potential for healing. This is one reason it is helpful to have the support of a therapist or advocate when dealing with law enforcement and the criminal justice system.

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The following quote is from a guide for lawyers who are prosecuting sex crimes against children. It is describing myths that members of a jury may believe and that the prosecutor would need to address in the course of making their case. It is from Appendix C of the Code for Crown Prosecutors in the UK, a public document: 

Myth: A victim who has been sexually assaulted will remember events consistently

[This myth] implies the victim is not telling the truth and invalidates the experience of the victim. It also fails to take account of how children and young people do not have the same standards of logic, understanding and consistency as adults do. They will not have the same experience of life as adults and are less sophisticated in their understanding of what has happened. A child may not fully understand the significance of activity which is sexual and this may be reflected in how they remember or describe it. A child is very likely to have a different perception of time to that of an adult. Also the process by which memories are laid down during a traumatic event may impact on issues such as consistency. A child's memory can fade and their recall of when and in what order events took place may not be accurate. A child may not be able to speak of the context in which the events took place, and this may include having particular difficulty with conceptual questions as to how they felt some time ago, or why they did or did not take a particular course of action. 

Additional Resources

• Jim Hopper, PhD: Recovered Memories of Sexual Abuse comprehensive literature review

• Dept of Justice, Canada: How Trauma Affects Memory and Recall in adult sexual assault

• Maria Socoloft, Incest Aware blog: Repressed Memory, Trauma Minimization, and Finding Self-Worth

• Centre for Studies on Human Stress, Montreal, Canada: Stress, Emotions, and Memory

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Featured Resource 

Hush No More interviews 5WAVES member Maria Socolof: Can You Really Forget Your Traumatic Sexual Experience?