Disclosure of Child Sexual Abuse: Issues from A Child‐Oriented Perspective

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to highlight issues that future researchers must deal with to better understand child sexual abuse from the perspective of children. Research specifically directed at children's perceptions of the abuse is limited. Instead, most of the current literature in the area is based on clinical studies of abused children and on retrospective reports of adults who were abused as children. It is argued that the effects of the abuse may well depend on their perceptions of the abuse at or about the time it occurs as well as their perceptions of the interventions following disclosure of the abuse. Some of the difficulties that face children following disclosure are outlined, with particular reference to the problems that result from the failure of the judicial system to accommodate the special needs and vulnerabilities of children.