Disclosure patterns in children's allegations of sexual abuse

© 2003 Dr. Lisa-Jane RichardsonThis study sought to examine the nature of children's disclosures to determine whether, and to what degree, disclosure of child sexual abuse is more characteristic of a process or an event. At present, the two empirically based studies that have examined this question are polarised in their findings as to whether disclosure is a process or an event. Two additional components were included with the aim of complementing the findings on the nature of disclosures: (1) the presence of clinical criteria in the children's statements and, (2) the frequency and usefulness of potential independent validating measures such as, offender admission; medical evidence; presence of an eyewitness; and photographic evidence. The study used a retrospective archival review of hospital case records, involving 200 children between the ages of 3 and 17 years who were assessed and treated in the Gatehouse Centre for the Assessment and Treatment of Child Abuse at the Royal Children's Hospital between October 1992 and October 1995. The majority of children's disclosures demonstrated clear confirming evidence of a gradual unfolding in varying sequences, over varying time periods, of the disclosure phases identified as denial, tentative, active, retraction and reaffirmation. As such, the findings were more characteristic of disclosure being considered a process, rather than an event. Whilst each of the independent measures (offender admission; medical evidence; presence of an eyewitness; and photographic evidence), was found in some of the case files, they were too infrequent to enable clear conclusions to be drawn as to their efficacy as independent corroborating measures