Child sexual exploitation and abuse disclosure and help‐seeking: A glimpse of global South data

Over decades, research practitioners have highlighted how survivors of sexual abuse in childhood face strong forms of stigma including victim‐blaming, shame and social isolation. However, the data and evidence are disproportionately slanted towards the global North. Shifting the focus to the global...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inChild abuse review (Chichester, England : 1992) Vol. 33; no. 3
Main Authors Kavenagh, Mark, Maternowska, M. Catherine
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Hoboken Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.05.2024
Subjects
Child abuse & neglect
Child sexual abuse
child sexual exploitation
Child welfare
Childhood
Children
Developing countries
Disclosure
Ecosystems
Exploitation
Gender roles
Help seeking behavior
help‐seeking
LDCs
online
Sex crimes
Sex roles
Sexual violence
Shame
Social isolation
Stigma
Survivor
Trauma
Youth
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Summary:Over decades, research practitioners have highlighted how survivors of sexual abuse in childhood face strong forms of stigma including victim‐blaming, shame and social isolation. However, the data and evidence are disproportionately slanted towards the global North. Shifting the focus to the global South, this reflective piece draws on two substantial multicountry research projects to highlight the expectations and experiences of young survivors of child sexual exploitation and abuse (CSEA) in their quest for support. By applying a socio‐ecological analysis, it demonstrates how societal stigma—from both professionals and young people themselves—compounds the help‐seeking process. The findings support the well‐documented concept that disclosing sexual violence is an ongoing—not singular—process that depends on a series of interactions at the individual, interpersonal and institutional levels of the ecosystem. Building better trauma‐informed responses is likely to help; however, a focus only on services falls short, especially in countries where child protection systems struggle to thrive. A concurrent transformative shift in both social and gender norms across the ecosystem is essential to address the seemingly intractable challenges to child sexual exploitation and abuse prevention and response.
ISSN:0952-9136
1099-0852
DOI:10.1002/car.2887