Connecting past and present: Nurses' role in identifying signs of child sexual abuse in adults and supporting survivors

Child sexual abuse (CSA) is a particular form of trauma, known as complex trauma. Unlike ‘single incident’ trauma, the complex trauma of CSA is cumulative, underlying, and interpersonally generated (Courtois & Ford 2009). It can have significant and long-lasting health impacts and is a key predictor of psychological distress in later life (Flett et al. 2012).