Premium
Why do child sexual abuse victims not tell anyone about their abuse? An exploration of factors that prevent and promote disclosure
Author(s) -
Winters Georgia M.,
Colombino Niki,
Schaaf Sarah,
Laake Anniken L. W.,
Jeglic Elizabeth L.,
Calkins Cynthia
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
behavioral sciences and the law
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.649
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1099-0798
pISSN - 0735-3936
DOI - 10.1002/bsl.2492
Subject(s) - law enforcement , sexual abuse , self disclosure , psychology , child sexual abuse , enforcement , suicide prevention , poison control , qualitative research , perception , clinical psychology , psychiatry , medicine , social psychology , medical emergency , political science , law , sociology , social science , neuroscience
Abstract Disclosure rates of child sexual abuse (CSA) to both social supports and law enforcement are concerningly low, although more research is needed to understand factors that impact disclosure. Thus, the present study examined rates of informal (i.e., to a social support) and formal (i.e., to law enforcement) disclosure of CSA, as well as victims' self‐reported experiences with telling others about their own abuse and their perceptions of the overall advantages and disadvantages of disclosure. In all, 76 undergraduate women (who collectively experienced 105 instances of abuse) participated in a semi‐structured interview regarding their history of CSA. Results revealed that approximately 50% of cases involved the victim informally disclosing, and only 10% of cases being formally disclosed to authorities. The quantitative and qualitative data shed light on a number of factors that lead victims to not disclose, as well as the identification of factors that may promote a victim to share their abuse with others. The implications for improved prevention and responses to CSA disclosure are discussed.