Disclosure, reporting and help seeking among child survivors of violence: a cross-country analysis

• Published in: BMC public health Vol. 20; no. 1; pp. 1 - 1051
• Main Authors: Pereira, Audrey, Peterman, Amber, Neijhoft, Anastasia Naomi, Buluma, Robert, Daban, Rocio Aznar, Islam, Aminul, Kainja, Esmie Tamanda Vilili, Kaloga, Inah Fatoumata, Kheam, They, Johnson, Afrooz Kaviani, Maternowska, M. Catherine, Potts, Alina, Rottanak, Chivith, Samnang, Chea, Shawa, Mary, Yoshikawa, Miho, Palermo, Tia
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London BioMed Central Ltd 02.07.2020; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Age; Aggression; Analysis; Behavior; Children; Children & youth; Confidentiality; Data collection; Design; Disclosure; Emotional behavior; Gender-based violence; Girls; Health aspects; Help seeking behavior; Help-seeking; Information management; Public health; Questionnaires; Regression analysis; Sexual assault; Statistical analysis; Studies; Surveys; Violence; Violence against children; Haiti; Cambodia; Kenya; Nigeria; Malawi; Tanzania
• ISSN: 1471-2458; 1471-2458
• DOI: 10.1186/s12889-020-09069-7

Abstract Background Violence against children is a pervasive public health issue, with limited data available across multiple contexts. This study explores the rarely studied prevalence and dynamics around disclosure, reporting and help-seeking behaviours of children who ever experienced physical and/or sexual violence. Methods Using nationally-representative Violence Against Children Surveys in six countries: Cambodia, Haiti, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria and Tanzania, we present descriptive statistics for prevalence of four outcomes among children aged 13–17 years: informal disclosure, knowledge of where to seek formal help, formal disclosure/help seeking and receipt of formal help. We ran country-specific multivariate logistic regressions predicting outcomes on factors at the individual, household and community levels. Results The prevalence of help-seeking behaviours ranged from 23 to 54% for informal disclosure, 16 to 28% for knowledge of where to seek formal help, under 1 to 25% for formal disclosure or help seeking, and 1 to 11% for receipt of formal help. Factors consistently correlated with promoting help-seeking behaviours included household number of adult females and absence of biological father, while those correlated with reduced help-seeking behaviours included being male and living in a female-headed household. Primary reasons for not seeking help varied by country, including self-blame, apathy and not needing or wanting services. Conclusions Across countries examined, help-seeking and receipt of formal services is low for children experiencing physical and/or sexual violence, with few consistent factors identified which facilitated help-seeking. Further understanding of help seeking, alongside improved data quality and availability will aid prevention responses, including the ability to assist child survivors in a timely manner.