Newsletter #60
Feature
Study on Child Sexual Abuse Uncovers Survivors’ Traumatic Experiences in Disclosure and Help-Seeking
In 2019, RainLily has published a report that revealed the severity of child sexual abuse (CSA) problem in the local community. Based on its service records from 2000 to 2018, the Centre finds an average of 13.2 years delay in presentation if the survivor was under the age of 16 years when being assaulted. The average presentation delay of these CSA survivors was ten times longer than their adult counterparts, which overtly points to the greater vulnerability of children and teenage in handling sexual abuse incident. Given these results, our research team has thereby conducted an exploratory study, with the aims to uncover the difficulties of CSA survivors in disclosing their victimisation experience and seeking professional help.
This study adopts a qualitative research approach to elicit and analyse survivors' retrospective narratives of their disclosure and help-seeking experience. With the support from RainLily's councillors and service users, 16 adult survivors of CSA were recruited from RainLily' service clientele and were invited for a semi-structured interview during the summer of 2019.
Early Disclosure Experiences in Childhood
In examining survivors' disclosure decision during childhood, this present study found that around one-third of total informants never talked about their abuse to any person until adulthood. A range of inhibitors were identified, such as difficulties in naming the problem and fear of the consequences of disclosure. More importantly, more than two-thirds of total informants did attempt to disclose their CSA incident during childhood, either directly or subtly. Yet, effective follow-ups of their cases were rarely achieved, inflicting further trauma on survivors. Based on informants' narratives, multiple patterns of confidants' response were identified, including neglecting survivors, doubting and blaming survivors, and not knowing how to help the survivors.
In the face of negative and/or unsupportive responses, many of the respondents refrained from revealing further details of the case until adulthood. This present study thereby raises the issue of mishandling of survivor disclosures by recipients. In order to facilitate a survivor's recovery, appropriate measures must be made to improve a potential confidant's handling of disclosure.
Multiple Disclosure Experiences in Adulthood
Apart from their disclosure experiences in childhood, this present study also finds that all 16 informants did disclose their traumatic experiences in adulthood, furthermore, nearly all of them reported multiple experiences of disclosing the abuse. Yet, the incentives of each disclosure actions varied from case to case, ranging from a wish to merely tell a person about the incident to a wish to seek more formal validation and support, from an attempt to share their secret with loved ones to an attempt to confront the abuser face to face, and from an aspiration to speak up for themselves to an aspiration to stand up for other survivors in effecting social change.
With respect to their disclosure experiences, this present study reaffirms the notion that survivors' disclosures must be understood as a complex and life-long process instead of a one-off or single event. Meanwhile, survivors' multiple disclosure experiences also denote a transformation underlying their handling of the trauma over time. Although there is no standard disclosure trajectory for survivors, this present study put forward that each of these disclosure experiences is, nevertheless, crucial to survivors' recovery from their CSA trauma.
Experiences of Seeking Professional Help
Coupled with a survivor's disclosure action is often their decision to seek professional help. Besides their contacts with RainLily, results from the research interviews found that most informants did ever obtain other support services from various entities per their different needs. Three major professional service providers were identified from their help-seeking experiences: social workers and counsellors, medical professionals and law enforcement agencies. Yet, the findings of this present study indicate that these professional help-seeking experiences are not often helpful or useful in accommodating survivors' needs, whilst the issue of secondary trauma has even come to light in some cases.
Akin to their disclosure experiences, this present study found that survivors' help-seeking experiences are also full of ups and downs. Despite this present study recognises the vital role of professional service providers in facilitating survivors' recovery from trauma, one should not overlook the negative impact of unhelpful experiences to survivors in working with these professionals, and therefore the existing support services should be carefully examined for potential improvement.
Conclusion and Recommendations
In short, this present study puts forward that CSA survivors' decision making in disclosure and help-seeking is never easy. It's a complex lifelong process instead. Regardless of their age at the time of disclosure/seeking help, a wide range of inhibitors to their disclosure and help-seeking decisions often exist, including various personal, interpersonal, institutional and cultural factors. Most importantly, even if survivors dare to disclose their abuse and/or to seek external help, most of these results do not appear promising. With the potential for secondary victimisation, these unpleasant encounters are hardly beneficial to facilitating survivors' recovery from trauma. In order to improve the current situation, this present study puts forward several recommendations for practices and policy measures, which include the promotion of sexuality education for children and adolescents, the provision of CSA prevention trainings to parents and other caregivers, and improvement measures to existing support services. For more details, the full report will be made available online shortly. Please check for updates from our homepage.
Our heartfelt gratitude is extended to these 16 informants who bravely shared with us their deeply personal account of the experiences of abuse and coping.
Hear Me Out
Limited Preventive Measures and Inadequate Supports for Sexual Violence In MTR
The Gender-friendly Environment Group (The Group) under the Association has conducted an online survey on public experience of encountering or witnessing sexual violence in MTR in the past three years, and collected 419 valid responses. The Association has launched its latest report 'Survey Report on Sexual Violence Experience in MTR' at a press conference on 26th Sept, 2020.
Summary of the Survey Report:
According to the survey report, more than 70% of interviewees (300 interviewees) have experienced sexual violence in MTR districts, and around 40% of interviewees (166 interviewees) have witnessed sexual violence in MTR districts. Nevertheless, only 1% of interviewees who have experienced sexual violence mentioned “there were MTR staff provided assistance”; as for the remaining (297) interviewees, more than 40% believed that “staff could not provide any effective assistance” (131 interviewees) and “did not see any staff nearby” (127 interviewees). Among the interviewees who have witnessed sexual violence, only 3.6% of them chose to “notify MTR staff” after the incident. There are 160 responses on the reasons of not reporting to MTR staff, and more than 40% of them (60 interviewees) chose the options of “did not see any staff nearby” and “felt that the staff could not provide effective assistance”.
The survey report shows that 93.6% of interviewees think the policies and instructions of MTR are inadequate for preventing the passengers from experiencing sexual violence, and more than 70% of interviewees think MTR is highly responsible for protecting passengers against sexual violence. From the public opinions of recommendations towards MTR in the survey, most interviewees chose “provide more accessible help-seeking information”, “Enhance the promotion on the prevention of sexual violence” and “provide guidelines and trainings for staff”.
Based on the findings, the Association would like to make the following recommendations for improvement:
Enhance the Feasibility of Help-seeking Channels and Related Measurements
The artificial intelligence system of MTR Mobile App is not able to detect words related to sexual violence, such as 'indecent assault', 'sexual harassment' and 'upskirting'. Therefore, MTR should upgrade the system to identify keywords related to sexual violence. When the app system receives related keywords, it should direct to the hotline services, or ask the users to provide their exact location in order to arrange a staff member to intervene.
Strengthen the Promotion of Sexual Violence Related Information and Encourage Bystanders' Actions
As the society is reserved and feel shameful towards sex, it is often difficult for victims to speak up. The role of bystanders is therefore important in sexual violence incidents. An increase of active bystanders would effectively increase the cost of committing sexual crimes, and therefore helpful in combating sexual violence in MTR. MTR could increase the number of posters and advertisements on anti-sexual violence and encouraging bystanders' actions, for example, 'stop the crime if you witness sexual harassment' instead of 'don't be silent'. More accurate wordings are helpful for victims to increase their willingness to seek help.
Increase Staff Training and Publicise Related Guidelines
The Association recommended the MTR should equip all staff with the ability of handling sexual violence incidents, including the handling skills and methods, ability of considering victims’ feelings and predicament, and providing options other than reporting to police (such as organisations or institutions supporting sexual violence victims). The Association would also like to have MTR publicised the staff guidelines on handing related crimes, allowing the public to understand and review on the effectiveness of its contingency measurements.
The Group has been approaching and providing recommendations related to gender-friendly facilitates to MTR for the past two years, however MTR has never directly responded to our demands. The group hopes MTR would take up the social responsibilities on protecting its passengers by considering to adopt the above recommendations.