Hollywood Depictions of CSA
Dissecting scenes of childhood sexual abuse in Film & TV
What can Film and TV teach us about the way people who have experience childhood sexual abuse are often depicted and seen by society? The Secrets Worth Screening series is a film club where a child sexual abuse survivor (Sophia Luu) and a film-theorist-turned-therapist (Andrew Asibong) review scenes of child sexual abuse in films. In this episode, we recap our first event that looks at the history of sexual portrays of young women on screen in Hollywood. We'll cover scenes from High Society (1956), Lolita (1962) and Fire Walk with Me (1992).
Your Hosts
Sophia — Founder of Secrets Worth Sharing
Sophia (she/her) is a survivor of child sexual abuse, designer and the founder of Secrets Worth Sharing, where she builds a community of having these difficult conversations with 'serious joy'.
Andrew Asibong - Psychotherapist and Film Club Co-Host (2024-2025)
Andrew Asibong (he/him) is an intercultural psychotherapist in Brighton, specialising in developmental and early relational trauma. For many years he lectured in film and psychoanalytic studies at Birkbeck, University of London, where he also ran the Fruitvale Film Club, for survivors of state violence and racialised trauma.
Links to Film Clips Discussed
High Society (1956) - “Little One” song
Download the Handout!
At each of our film clubs, we give a hand out to the audience so they can see why we chose the scenes we did. Download these for free here!
Production Crew / Special Thanks
Special thanks to Tom Eames for filming and editing the clips.
