Please Tell! Barriers to Disclosing Sexual Victimization and Subsequent Social Support Perceived by Children and Adolescents

The present study examines barriers to disclosing sexual victimization and perceived social support after disclosure from the perspective of children and adolescents. Forty-two children and adolescents aged 6 to 17 years participated in semistructured interviews about their history of sexual victimization, the delay of disclosure, barriers to disclosure, informal and formal recipients of disclosure, as well as abuse-specific social support as perceived by the recipients. The participants disclosed their victimization with a delay of approximately 17 months, ranging from immediate reporting to 10 years of nondisclosure. The most frequent reasons to withhold the information were feelings of shame and threats by the perpetrator. A majority felt that people believed and supported them after disclosing, but a considerable proportion of study participants reported a lack of perceived protection against recurring victimization. The results underline the importance of educating children and adolescents about sexual victimization and of encouraging the immediate reporting of critical incidents. Possibilities to address the barriers identified in this study are discussed.