Negative reactions of Uganda’s parents towards the disclosure of child sexual abuse and perceived psychosocial consequences on survivors

Abstract

Disclosure of child sexual abuse is the first step toward receiving social and systemic support. While parents are important recipients of disclosure, there is limited evidence regarding their reactions and how survivors perceive them. This study describes parents’ reactions that survivors consider as negative and the psychosocial consequences associated. A case study utilizing qualitative research methods was adopted. Narrative inquiry was used to collect data from 14 purposively-selected participants. Six in-depth interviews were held with key informants and 2 focus group discussions with community members. Data was analysed using themes and quotes. Survivors reported that their parents verbally abused them, sent them away from home, forced them to keep the abuse a secret, and denied them education after learning about the abuse. Participants associated the reactions with accumulation of anger, feelings of rejection and loss of self-esteem. Parents' reactions are influenced by a complex web of factors including the struggle to manage their pain, frustration and disappointment as a result of their child’s abuse. In this regard, service providers particularly social workers ought to provide knowledge to young people on where to seek professional help and engage in awareness creation at the family and community level to support parents to provide constructive support to children exposed to abuse.