Reflecting on a journey: the development of a black feminist approach to childhood sexual abuse in black families

This paper is the contexualising statement as part of my submission for a PhD by published works. It seeks to explore the development of a black feminist approach to child sexual abuse discourses in my work. The central focus of the paper is an examination of the core concerns covered in my writings, notably the interconnections between race, gender and class in shaping dynamics of child sexual abuse in black families. Using a content analysis approach to re-read my writings,
this paper reflects on the main themes emerging in the body of work submitted, to chart my journey as a feminist researcher and the development of the ideas in my
work. In particular, it presents a reflexive examination of my writings and opens up questions about gender and race for understanding the basis of power in the research process. Drawing on a range of feminist and anti-racist thinkers, it provides a synthesis of the theoretical, methodological and epistemological bases of my writings and critically considers how the body of work comes together as a coherent whole.
This paper evaluates the strengths and limitations of the research and explores the implications for the inferences that can be drawn from the analyses I have constructed. The claim is made that as the body of work discussed is original,
expands feminist scholarship on child abuse, and makes an important contribution to the knowledge base of child abuse, it is thus equivalent to a PhD by conventional thesis route.