Disclosure rates of sexual abuse in children have statistically been found to be between 16% and 25% as reported by Tashjian, Goldfarb, and Goodman in their article, “Considering parent-child relationship factors in delayed disclosure of child sexual abuse”. The article indicates that victims who report abuse on time are less than 25% of the possible abuse figures. This implies that the rate of successful prosecution is even lower as late reporting makes it harder for prosecutors to gather evidence and present watertight cases. Studies geared at identifying factors leading to the delayed and low rate of the disclosure have identified the age along with gender, and the relationship between the victim and perpetrator as main factors. This article looks further and identifies non-offending parents in familial relationships as one big factor being overlooked in Psychological science. Non-offending parents should be interviewed along with the victims though caution is advised in cases where the non-offending parents do not support disclosure due to family reasons.
The most consistent reason for non-disclosure is that victims feel the recipient of the information would not accept that the abuse occurred. Some victims fear the possible unfavorable reaction from the recipient in the form of mental and physical mistreat. Therefore, the relationship between the victim and the non-offending parent often forms the basis of this prejudgment. Future studies should, therefore, emphasize on non-offending parents and victim relations as the main factor towards delayed disclosure.
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Notably, other factors should not be entirely ignored. Age and gender have conspicuously appeared in every study and has been established that older children are less likely to report compared to younger ones. In terms of gender, the rate of disclosure in boys is lower than the girls’ rate. Victim and perpetrator relationship shows that close family members are less likely to be reported by victims.
I find the article bold in its attempt to emphasize the often overlooked factor of the relationship between non-offending parents and victims in delayed and unreported sexual abuse. More emphasis needs to be put on non-offending parents. Educative articles on parenting skills should research ways in which parents can make children more likely to disclose to them on sexual abuse without fear of being prejudiced.
References
Tashjian, S., Goldfarb, D., and Goodman, G (2017). Considering parent-child relationship factors in delayed disclosure of child sexual abuse . American Psychological Association. Retrieved from https://www.apadivisions.org
