Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN), 1220 L St NW Suite 500, Washington, DC 20005, United States of America.
Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN), 1220 L St NW Suite 500, Washington, DC 20005, United States of America.
Child Abuse Negl. 2024 Sep;155:106959. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2024.106959. Epub 2024 Aug 1.
Disclosing ongoing child sexual abuse (CSA) to a mandated reporter should facilitate youth safety. Unfortunately, youth may continue to experience abuse after disclosure, although little research has examined this phenomenon.
We aimed to understand when and why the child protection process fails after youth disclose to a mandated reporter.
Hotline support specialists completed an online survey about 124 anonymous hotline chats with youth whose abuse continued after a prior disclosure to a mandated reporter.
We thematically analyzed support specialists' open-ended descriptions of information disclosed by the victim in their chat.
In most cases (71 %), the abuse was seemingly not reported or not investigated. Mandated reporters' belief of the victim and minimization of abuse affected reporting decisions. Some mandated reporters tried to address the abuse directly with the perpetrators, endangering victims. Rarely, mandated reporters did not report to respect the victim's wishes. In 24 % of cases, the victim described an investigation that did not result in protection. Victims indicated that investigators "sided to the perpetrator" or said there was not enough evidence. Some victims recanted, often in fear. In 6 % of cases, formal actions were taken but did not provide long-term protection. Victims described temporary cessation of abuse that resumed because their guardian(s) allowed the perpetrator to access them.
Disclosing to a mandated reporter can engender traumatic experiences without resulting in long-term safety. Professionals need additional training to increase their knowledge of CSA and respond in ways that prioritize physical and emotional safety.
向法定报告人披露正在进行的儿童性虐待（CSA）应该有助于保护青少年的安全。不幸的是，尽管很少有研究探讨这种现象，但青少年在披露后可能仍会继续遭受虐待。
我们旨在了解青少年向法定报告人披露后，儿童保护程序何时以及为何失败。
热线支持专家完成了一项在线调查，涉及 124 名匿名热线聊天，这些聊天的对象是在向法定报告人披露虐待行为后继续遭受虐待的青少年。
我们对受害者在聊天中披露的信息进行了主题分析，支持专家对此进行了开放式描述。
在大多数情况下（71%），虐待行为似乎未被报告或未被调查。法定报告人对受害者的信任和对虐待行为的淡化影响了报告决定。一些法定报告人试图直接与施害者解决问题，使受害者处于危险之中。很少情况下，法定报告人不报告是为了尊重受害者的意愿。在 24%的情况下，受害者描述了一次未导致保护的调查。受害者表示，调查人员“偏向施害者”或说没有足够的证据。一些受害者翻供，通常是出于恐惧。在 6%的情况下，采取了正式行动，但没有提供长期保护。受害者描述了暂时停止的虐待行为，因为他们的监护人允许施害者与他们接触，虐待行为又重新开始。
向法定报告人披露可能会带来创伤性体验，而不会带来长期的安全。专业人员需要额外的培训，以增加他们对 CSA 的了解，并以优先考虑身体和情感安全的方式做出回应。
