Practice Area 3 – Responding to child sexual abuse disclosures across the lifespan
For many victims and survivors, disclosure will be a complex and lifelong process. There is no one way for a child, young person, or adult victim or survivor to disclose child sexual abuse. Victims and survivors of all ages may:
- disclose directly
- make partial disclosures, testing you to see if you can respond empathically and compassionately
- attempt to disclose in indirect ways, such as through their behaviour – either sudden changes in behaviour, poor school performance, or an upsurge in psychological and emotional distress at key life moments, such as childbirth and anniversaries of the abuse
- have disclosed if they had been directly asked.
We know from the testimonies of victims and survivors provided to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse that some victims and survivors disclosed as children or young people. Other victims and survivors delayed disclosing their child sexual abuse until adulthood and some never told anyone. Victims and survivors may delay or not disclose because they:
- fear not being believed, not being listened to, being judged or being blamed
- fear what might happen because of threats made to them by the perpetrator or child or young person who has displayed concerning or harmful sexual behaviour
- fear that talking about experiences of child sexual abuse will perpetuate homophobic and transphobic attitudes such as ‘gay men are paedophiles’
- feel shame, including intense anxiety, about what family, friends and their community may think of them. This can be exacerbated where an adult victim or survivor has not disclosed that they are LGBTQIA+ or non-binary to their family and friends
- believe that disclosure will negatively affect family relationships, reflect poorly on their culture, faith, or community, break up the family or ‘burden’ parents or carers
- were told the sexual abuse was ‘normal’ behaviour and did not recognise the behaviour as child sexual abuse
- have limited English understanding
- have a speech or communication disability
- do not have the vocabulary to describe their experiences (depending on developmental stage and/or disability)
- do not have the technology to assist them, such as the right combination of words/images on a communication board
- feel the service provision context is unfamiliar and being alone with an unknown person in a room may trigger memories of the abuse.
Many victims and survivors who disclose receive negative responses from those they tell. Poor responses to disclosure can further traumatise victims and survivors and may result in them not disclosing again or retracting their disclosure. This can mean that the effects of child sexual abuse compound over time and lead to victims and survivors engaging with a range of service systems (e.g. mental health or alcohol and other drug services) to manage the effects without directly addressing the child sexual abuse. For children and young people, poor responses can result in the child or young person remaining unsafe and/or not receiving appropriate help and referrals. While seeking help, victims and survivors may delay or be prevented from disclosing when a worker does not ask about child sexual abuse. This could be because the worker feels:
- they are ‘not the right person’
- that it is intrusive to ask direct questions or use screening tools if an individual is seeking help from their service for a reason other than child sexual abuse
- they might not have the skills to appropriately respond.
This Practice Area offers guidance to help you respond effectively to disclosures of child sexual abuse. An effective response to a disclosure of child sexual abuse is helpful, supportive and offers appropriate referral if required, within the limits of your role and that of your organisation.