The Demographics Behind the Courage to Tell for Survivors: Child Sexual Abuse Experiences in Kenya

Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) is both a global and national social issue, as well as an epidemic in various societies. Non-disclosure of CSA only worsens and extends survivors’ suffering, and CSA’s long-term effects can be devastating. Several studies have been done in the field of CSA and its health implications but rarely have previous studies addressed child sexual abuse disclosure (CSAD). The current study aimed at examining child factors of CSAD at Thika Level 5 Hospital (TL5H) in Kiambu County, Kenya. The study is a case study using a phenomenology approach where the primary data was collected from the sexual abuse survivors and caregivers using a mixed-method analysis. Interviews were conducted with 30 CSA survivors, 25 girls, and 5 boys: 5-17 years. The study utilised the convergent QUAL (investigative open-ended questions and storytelling) design with a Quan component (structured survey) to identify CSA survivors’ experiences while receiving medical treatment and therapeutic intervention at TL5H. Descriptive and thematic approaches were applied to analyse qualitative data that revealed survivors’ lived experiences with CSA. Informed by Bronfenbrenner’s Socio-Ecological Model (SEM), saliency analysis was applied to code the recurring and important themes from the data in order to identify which child factors. Survivors gave detailed accounts of types of threats and manipulation applied by perpetrators to stop them from disclosing abuse. Survivors said disclosing or not disclosing helped them cope with abuse trauma. Quantitative results revealed that 58% of the survivors who completed the disclosure process aged between 9-13 years, 83.3% were female, and 70% had achieved a lower level of education.

Bringing Shame Out of the Shadows: Identifying Shame in Child Sexual Abuse Disclosure Processes and Implications for Psychotherapy

Child sexual abuse (CSA) has been described as a highly stigmatizing experience. Despite the recognition of shame as a significant contributor to psychological distress following CSA, an inhibitor of CSA disclosure, and a challenging emotion to overcome in therapy, limited research has explored the experience of shame with young people who have been sexually abused. This study is unique in examining the transcripts of 47 young people aged 15–25 years from a large-scale study conducted in Ireland and Canada and exploring manifestations of shame in CSA disclosure narratives. Using a thematic analysis of both inductive and deductive coding, the data were examined for implicit, as distinct from explicit, manifestations of shame. Three key themes were identified in this study: languaging shame, avoiding shame, and reducing shame. The study supports previous authors in highlighting the need for nuanced measures of shame in research that takes account of the complexity of this emotion. Conceptualizations in the literature of the distinction between shame and guilt are challenged when these emotions are explored in the context of CSA. Finally, recommendations for working therapeutically with young people who have experienced CSA are offered with a view to addressing shame in therapeutic work.

“A Little Bit of Light Dispels a Lot of Darkness”: Online Disclosure of Child Sexual Abuse by Authority Figures in the Ultraorthodox Jewish Community in Israel

Social media sites such as Facebook have become popular platforms for promoting public awareness of sexual abuse by encouraging user engagement around this issue. There is, therefore, currently emerging research on the functions and implications of social media as a platform for sexual abuse disclosure. However, as yet, no study has examined this phenomenon specifically through a religious-cultural lens. This study explores perceptions of, barriers to, and motives underlying online disclosure of child sexual abuse (CSA) by religious authority figures (RAFs) in ultraorthodox Jewish society in Israel. The data were gleaned from the popular Facebook page of a nonprofit devoted to raising awareness of CSA in the ultraorthodox community. The analysis was based on admins’ posts, anonymous and nonanonymous survivors’ shares, users’ comments, and in-depth interviews of eight page users. The findings suggest a culture-oriented model of online CSA disclosure (OCSAD), identifying four primary factors (safety, benefit, relevance, and legitimacy) that, weighed against cultural barriers, influence the decision to engage in online CSA disclosure. This context-informed understanding highlights the importance of social media as an alternative platform for CSA disclosure in an isolated but changing cultural arena such as the ultraorthodox community in Israel. The theoretical model is of international interest for its conceptualization of the unique characteristics and perceptions of OCSAD within religious-cultural contexts.