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The process of disclosing child abuse: a study of S wedish S ocial S ervices protection in child abuse cases
Author(s) -
Linell Hanna
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
child and family social work
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.912
H-Index - 57
eISSN - 1365-2206
pISSN - 1356-7500
DOI - 10.1111/cfs.12245
Subject(s) - safeguarding , ambivalence , feeling , psychology , process (computing) , cognition , social psychology , developmental psychology , medicine , psychiatry , nursing , computer science , operating system
This paper presents findings from a study of judgements concerning 137 children (13–18 years) where protection by the S wedish S ocial S ervices was applied for. The paper explores the disclosure of physical, sexual and emotional child abuse including experiences of domestic violence and the process following a disclosure. A central finding is that the majority of children (71%) could be described as having intentionally disclosed the abuse. The findings also suggest that many of the children had come a long way in an emotional and cognitive process before the decision to disclose, and that disclosure was often made in conjunction with a decision to leave the alleged abusers. These findings support previous research suggesting children's intentional disclosure as an important predictor of decisions regarding alternative care. Another finding is that the process following the disclosure was described by the children as intensely challenging with active pressure and threats from relatives and feelings of fear, guilt and ambivalence. These findings have implications for both practice and research on how the safeguarding system can help children in the process of disclosure and protect those who do disclose.