Performing Motherhood After Trauma: A Qualitative Analysis of Non-Offending Mothers in Cases of Transgenerational Child Sexual Abuse

Transgenerational child sexual abuse (CSA-T) remains one of the most hidden yet persistent forms of interpersonal trauma, reproducing harm across generations and deepening gender-based violence through its disproportionate emotional, symbolic, and social impact on women. This study examines the performative effects of dominant cultural and institutional discourses surrounding motherhood on Chilean women who are non-offending mothers and survivors of CSA, and whose children have also experienced sexual abuse. This study employed a qualitative design grounded in feminist and social constructionist epistemologies. Eight participants engaged in in-depth interviews, and six of them subsequently participated in a photointervention process. Thematic discourse analysis revealed how social mandates of maternal blame, idealized responsibility, and protective failure are internalized and reproduced, exacerbating psychological distress and social isolation. Based on these findings, a quadrant model was developed to map the intersection between the type of institutional intervention and the emotional, symbolic, and relational effects experienced by these women. Findings highlight the symbolic violence exerted by institutional and therapeutic frameworks that individualize responsibility for child protection, reinforcing gendered trauma and limiting access to supportive care. This article calls for a collective rethinking of childcare as a shared social responsibility and underscores the need for trauma-informed, gender-sensitive policies and interventions.