ABSTRACT

The literature on disclosures of child sexual abuse makes clear that in the absence of physical indicators of abuse, children need to articulate their abuse in order to prevent further harm. However, many struggle to verbalize their abuse. Previous research has recognized the interactional nature of disclosures but has focussed only on what the children say, rather than considering the role of the other interlocutor. To provide a novel perspective on disclosures, this research addresses the question ‘To what extent do counselors facilitate children’s disclosures of sexual abuse?’ Online text-based conversations in which sexual abuse was disclosed (n = 40) between children (aged 10–18 years old) and Childline counselors were analyzed. Whilst some children do use explicit terms to describe sexual abuse, these are predominantly used to seek definitions and clarification. Furthermore, counselors play an instrumental role in recognizing that a disclosure is being made, and then eliciting and reframing the disclosure as sexual abuse. The findings offer an explanation for why some victims of sexual abuse report having attempted to disclose but feeling like their voices were not heard.

摘要

有关披露儿童性虐待的文献清楚地表明，在缺乏身体虐待迹象的情况下，儿童需要清楚地表达他们的虐待行为，以防止进一步的伤害。然而，许多人难以用语言表达他们的虐待。以前的研究已经认识到披露的互动性质，但只关注孩子们所说的话，而不是考虑其他对话者的角色。为了提供关于披露的新观点，本研究解决了“辅导员在多大程度上促进儿童披露性虐待？”的问题。分析了儿童（10-18 岁）和儿童热线顾问之间披露性虐待的在线文本对话（n = 40）。虽然有些孩子确实使用明确的术语来描述性虐待，这些主要用于寻求定义和澄清。此外，辅导员在识别正在进行披露，然后引发并将披露重新定义为性虐待方面发挥了重要作用。调查结果解释了为什么一些性虐待受害者报告试图披露但感觉自己的声音没有被听到。