“But I wanted to talk about it”: Technology-assisted child sexual abuse victims’ reasoning for delayed disclosure

Background

Victim disclosure is crucial in uncovering and preventing child sexual abuse, but many victims are reluctant to disclose. While research on child sexual abuse has identified a range of barriers and facilitators for disclosure, the disclosure process for technology-assisted child sexual abuse (TA-CSA) is largely unexplored.

Objective

Gain a first-person perspective on TA-CSA disclosure.

Participants and setting

Seven young women (aged 7–13 at onset of abuse, 17–24 at interview) were interviewed about the barriers to disclosure they had faced and potential facilitating factors that would have helped them disclose earlier.

Methods

The interviews were analyzed using data-driven reflexive thematic analysis.

Results

A wish to tell captures the desire to have had someone to share abusive experiences with. Fearing who would find out encapsulates the fear that disclosing to one person will spread beyond the initial disclosure. A need for a cue reflects the participants' lack of knowledge and the need for invitations to talk about sex and abuse. Fearing it was my fault conveys the participants' sense of guilt and their wish to understand that they were not to blame.

Conclusions

Despite a wish to disclose, shame, guilt, and fear were barriers that held them back. Knowledge about TA-CSA, and invitations to the topic were seen as potential facilitators. Four suggested facilitating factors for disclosure, which society and the adult world should prioritize, were synthesized from the interviews: open dialogue on sensitive topics, providing an opportunity to tell, allowing the child to be in control of the story, and lifting the shame and self-blame.