Addiction treatment professionals are often cautious about addressing sexual abuse issues too early in the treatment process, viewing newly recovering persons as too vulnerable to relapse if confronted with too many memories and feelings. However, the jail treatment setting provides an opportunity to monitor and support recovery that is not available in an outpatient setting or even in a community treatment program. Groups must emphasize and enforce confidentiality. Other rules should include no physical violence, consistency in attendance, no touching without permission, and the advisability of discussing contacts with family members in the group before making the contact to discuss abusive experiences. Groups are usually most effective if scheduled two or three times weekly. Therapists should be aware that males are not generally socialized to be victims or to express emotions as openly and acceptably as females and are therefore more likely to conceal the fact that they were abused. Charts, footnotes, and 8 references