Lifting the veil: The lived experience of sibling abuse

Sibling abuse remains under the radar despite its devastating consequences. Without the provision of child welfare statutes to identify sibling abuse and its lack of distinction from other forms of sibling conflict, child welfare workers, mandated reporters, and practitioners face challenges to make complete assessments of family violence. The narratives of 19 self-identified survivors of traumatic childhood and adolescent sibling abuse accentuate the need to identify and validate these experiences as a necessary aspect of protection and healing. Exploratory research of sibling abuse based in a grounded theory framework and phenomenological analysis uncovered critical incidents of physical and emotional sibling abuse underscoring its harrowing impact. The accounts give clarity to defining sibling abuse which includes unpredictable and relentless acts of intimidation resulting in a state of helplessness and isolation. The findings have protective and practice implications for child welfare and clinical soc...