Child Sexual Abuse in Romania. A Social Constructivist Analysis of The Influence of Romania’s Communist Past Regarding Present Understandings of Child Sexual Abuse

At the end of the Second World War, the ideological ‘Iron Curtain’ was dividing Europe into the democratic west and the communist east. For almost half a century, countries in the Eastern Bloc were virtually isolated from the democratic ‘outside world’. Although over three decades have passed since the fall of communism in 1989, many ex-communist states have yet to reconcile with their communist past. This may have effects on how Romanians think about types of crime and how crime affects them nowadays. The chapter concentrates upon views on child sexual abuse (CSA) in their cultural and political contexts. It explores social constructions of communism in Romania and their potential influence on ideas about CSA. Adopting a social constructivist approach, the study recognises that knowledge is collectively constructed and individually assimilated by learners. Therefore, it is assumed that reality, and the ‘realities of communism and CSA’, are shaped by the interactions between individuals, society, and social world.