Saturday, 15 January 2005 - 8:00 AM

This presentation is part of: The Difficulty of Disclosure: Issues Related to Disclosing Trauma, Abuse and Victimization

Exploring the Disclosure Experiences of Female and Male Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse: The Same but Different

Purpose: It is estimated that up to 80% of victims of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) do not purposefully disclose before adulthood (Arata, 1998; Smith, Letourneau, Saunders, et al., 2000), suggesting that many children endure prolonged victimization or do not receive necessary therapeutic intervention. Disclosure as a process is an under-studied area (Goodman-Brown, Edelstein, Goodman et al., 2003; Jones 2000; Paine & Hansen, 2002) and even less is known about how gender impacts on disclosure of CSA. The purpose of this study was to qualitatively explore dynamics that impede or promote disclosure by examining a range of influences such as familial, environmental, cultural and including gender issues.

Method: Twelve female and twelve male survivors of CSA were interviewed about their disclosure experiences using the long-interview method (McCracken, 1988). Interviews were transcribed verbatim for open, axial and selective coding. Further, thematic analysis was conducted using N*Vivo software. Prolonged engagement, persistent observation, and peer debriefing were among techniques used to ensure trustworthiness of the data.

Results: While there were strong similarities between the disclosure patterns of male and female participants noteworthy differences connected to gender emerged. The overall trend for both genders was towards delaying disclosure, with many survivors only disclosing well into adulthood. With those who tried to disclose in childhood, attempts often were made in behavioral, non-verbal or in-direct ways. Specific to gender, disclosure for males was difficult because: 1) most were abused by men and feared being viewed as homosexual; 2) they feared they would be labeled as potential perpetrators because of their sexual abuse history and; 3) they felt profoundly stigmatized, “different” and isolated because they believed that boys were rarely sexually abused. Women appeared to have more difficulties telling because: 4) they felt more conflicted about who was responsible for the abuse; 5) they more strongly anticipated being blamed and/or not believed. However, their symptoms often brought them into therapy where they sometimes disclosed, whereas male victims more often became involved in substance abuse, crime and involvement in the criminal justice system where issues of CSA were not probed or dealt with.

Implications for Practice: Practitioners need to be aware that gender impacts on victim disclosure. For men, being sexually abused by a male evokes unique conflicts. Men are profoundly affected by prevailing attitudes about masculinity and what it means to be a man in a patriarchy structured society. These issues need to be acknowledged and worked through. Most studies suggest that there are fewer male CSA victims however it may be the case that fewer disclose because of these environmental impediments. Women are also affected by a culture of sexist assumptions inhibiting their ability to disclose. They bear more of the burden of responsibility for their victimization and anticipate being blamed. Fears of victim blaming figured prominently in their narratives. Clearly, the work of social work needs to occur on multiple levels – individual, environmental, and cultural.

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