6.4 Why do children rarely disclose abuse?

It is important to understand why many children do not speak up about abuse: it will help your organisation put reporting processes in place that are as easy as possible for children to use.

In the next activity, you explore this in more detail.

What prevents children disclosing abuse?

In the Safeguarding Essentials course, you met Priya who was being sexually abused by a senior manager from her rugby club.

Trigger warning

Watch the video again and identify TWO reasons why Priya is reluctant to speak up about her abuse.

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Transcript

OFA:
Priya, you shouldn't be frightened to speak up. I know he's a senior manager in our federation, but...
PRIYA:
But he's so powerful. He decides who plays and who doesn't. I might lose my place.
OFA:
I know he's powerful, but all the same, he's been touching you without your consent sexually. That's just not right. And he's doing it to some of the others, you said.
PRIYA:
I know. But we're all terrified. I'm scared for myself. I'm scared for my family. What if he tries to hurt us?
OFA:
But this must stop. We must tell someone.
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Priya is reluctant to tell anybody about her abusive experiences because:

  1. Her abuser is in a position of power and can decide who plays in the team and who doesn’t.
  2. Priya is terrified that the senior manager might hurt her or her family if she speaks up.

The concerns that have silenced Priya are based on losing her future participation at this level of sport – and the threats to harm her and those she loves.

Sadly, these are not the only reasons why people are reluctant to disclose their abuse. You explore this further in the next section.

6.3 What is a disclosure?

6.5 What are other reasons why children don’t disclose abuse?