School Based Research on Undisclosed Sexual Abuse:

Shouldn't Children Have the Right to Speak Out Anonymously?

by Nancy Faulkner, Ph.D.

Concerns
Problem
Impact of Sexual Abuse
Secrecy
Previous Research
Give Children the Right--And a Way to Speak Out
Sexual Abuse Research Survey: Sexual Abuse Recognition and Non-Disclosure of Young Adolescents (SARANDI)
Reaching Out to Silent Victims
References
Contact Information

When a shy, frightened pre-school victim was asked if her grandfather
had hurt her when he touched her, she responded, "Only in my heart."

Concerns

During an initial therapy intake session with a senior citizen, I asked one of my routine interview questions: "Have you ever been sexually abused?" She nodded quietly. Although she had been in therapy most of her adult life, there was no record of sexual victimization issues. Her response, "No one ever asked."

Too often, we don't ask. We survey school children on alcohol and drug use. But we don't ask about sexual victimization. -- Why not?

Problem

Child abuse research began exposing sexual abuse of children as a problem of sizable proportions in the late 1960s and early l970s (Watson, 1984). Reported cases of child sexual abuse reached epidemic proportions, with a reported 322 percent increase from 1980 to 1990 (Sorensen & Snow, 1991). To make the national crisis of sexual crimes against youth even more alarming, Janssen (1984) has contended there may be at least 10 times as many cases that go unreported. As suggested by Janssen, "Only the tip of the iceberg has been touched concerning the incidence of child sexual abuse".

Impact of Sexual Abuse

Investigation and research on undisclosed sexual abuse has important clinical implications.

Long-term effects that are frequently reported and associated with sexual abuse include depression, self-destructive behavior, anxiety, feelings of isolation and stigma, poor self- esteem, difficulty in trusting others, tendency toward revictimization, substance abuse, and sexual maladjustment (Courtois & Watts, l982; Finkelhor & Browne, 1986, Herman & Hirschman, 1977; Tsai & Wagner, l978).

Early identification of sexual abuse victims appears to be crucial to the reduction of suffering, the enhancement of psychological development, and for healthier adult functioning (Bagley, 1992; Bagley, 1991; Finkelhor et al. 1990; Whitlock & Gillman, 1989).

Secrecy

The nature of the crime constituting child sexual abuse is intertwined with the issue of victim secrecy.

Victims of sexual abuse frequently experience feelings of shame, guilt, isolation, powerlessness, embarrassment, and inadequacy (Bagley, 1992; Courtois & Watts, 1982; Herman & Hirschman, 1977; Swanson & Biaggio, 1985). They may even accept the responsibility for the abuse by blaming themselves (Johnson, 1987).

Victims may also have a feeling that "something is wrong with me," and that the abuse is their fault (Johnson, 1987; Tsai & Wagner, l978). They may be embarrassed or reluctant to answer questions about the sexual activity (Berliner & Barbieri, 1984).

Children often fail to report because of the fear that disclosure will bring consequences even worse than being victimized again. The victim may feel guilty for consequences to the perpetrator and may fear subsequent retaliatory actions from the perpetrator (Berlinger & Barbieri, 1984; Groth, 1979; Swanson & Biaggio, 1985).

As long as disclosure continues to be a problem for young victims, then fear, suffering, and psychological distress will, like the secret, remain with the victim.

Previous Research

Bagley (1990a) reported that 32 percent of the sampled females in his community study responded they had experienced child sexual abuse, with sexual abuse greater for women born after 1960 than before. Based on his extensive research on sexual abuse, Bagley (1990b) affirmed that child sexual abuse is much more frequent than had been previously assumed. Finkelhor et al. (1990) conducted the first national sexual victimization telephone survey of 2,626 American men and women. Sexual victimization was reported by 27 percent of the women and 16 percent of the men. One of the major findings was that many of those who were victims never disclosed to anyone. Forty-two percent of the women and thirty- three percent of the men reported never having disclosed the abuse.

"Studies to date concerning possible short- and long-term effects of child sexual abuse have focused primarily on the experiences of women abused as children..." (Whitlock and Gillman, 1989). These retrospective studies have neither reached nor addressed the immediate needs of the masses of young victims currently living with undisclosed abuse, nor have they adequately addressed the issue of whether victims understand that they have been sexually abused (Finkelhor & Browne, l986).

Finkelhor and Browne (1986) have recommended that since sexual abuse is extensively underreported and intervention is subsequently delayed, there be new studies of victims who have not disclosed or sought treatment. They advocated that these studies be conducted more proximate to the age of victimization.

Bagley (1992) confirmed that there is logic in beginning attempts to query students in school settings.

Give Children the Right--And a Way to Speak Out

Why do we provide anonymity only for adults in sexual victimization surveys?

Shouldn't children have the same rights?

Aren't children, more vulnerable than adults, more afraid to speak out than adults?

Shouldn't children also have the right to express their needs without being inhibited by fear of identification?

Bagley (1992) posited that children and adolescents may be reluctant to report some experiences directly, or through a questionnaire in which they have to identify themselves. He contended that adolescents in school settings are willing to anonymously report various kinds of stress, including physical, emotional and sexual abuse.

Since no known instrument currently existed that would permit young victims to anonymously provide us with current, community based information on the frequency of undisclosed sexual abuse, research was conducted (Faulkner, 1996) which included the development of an instrument entitled Sexual Abuse Recognition and Non-Disclosure Inventory (SARANDI). The SARANDI was designed to assess the frequency of undisclosed sexual abuse in young adolescents.

The SARANDI survey included several questions on potential sexual victimization. Finkelhor et al. (1990) contended that respondents disclose more experiences when given multiple opportunities to disclose to a variety of events, as opposed to a single, broad screening question.

In the study, an attempt was made to investigate the issue of children who had been abused but were unaware they were sexual abuse victims. Based on the research of Gilbert (1988) and Yoder et al. (1988), it was expected that some participants who affirmed sexual abuse situations would, at the same time, deny they had been sexually abused.

Sexual Abuse Research Survey: Sexual Abuse Recognition and Non-Disclosure of Young Adolescents (SARANDI)

The SARANDI (Faulkner, 1996) was developed for young adolescents in the age range of 12 through 15. Participants were guaranteed anonymity with regard to their responses. Students could elect to voluntarily respond to the survey, or return their response cards unanswered. At the conclusion of the survey, students were given information on where to get help if they were being victimized.

The SARANDI was written in terms that would be acceptable to school administrators for use with young adolescents. All administration procedures were on an 11 minute video tape. Administration of the anonymous survey took less than 30 minutes.

Reaching Out to Silent Victims

We need to step back and review our efforts to reach silent victims. According to Gilbert (1988), although education and prevention programs have been implemented, they have not been entirely successful. If we still have undisclosed victims, are the programs really working? Like drug education programs, we know the children have heard the information -- and they can repeat the information -- but millions of victims still remain silent.

Although the SARANDI research is not the final solution, it is a move toward assessing the needs of sexual victims in the school system, singularly the best place to reach the greatest number of children. Unlike retrospective studies of adults, this research attempted to assess the extent of current victimization in the communities in which it was occurring.

Continued research is imperative to liberating these children from their prisons of secrecy and pain.

References

Bagley, C. (1992). Development of an adolescent stress scale for use of school counsellors. School Psychology International, 13, 31-49.

Bagley, C. (1991). The prevalence and mental health sequels of child sexual abuse in a community sample of women aged 18 to 27. Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health, 10, 103-116.

Bagley, C. (1990a). Development of a measure of unwanted sexual contact in childhood, for use in community mental health surveys. Psychological Reports, 66,401-2.

Bagley, C. (1990b). Validity of a short measure of child sexual abuse for use in community mental health surveys. Psychological Reports, 66, 449-450.

Berlinger, L. & Barbieri, M. K. (1984). The testimony of the child victim of sexual assault. Journal of Social Issues, 40(2), 125-137.

Courtois, C. A. & Watts, D. L. (1982). Counseling adult women who experienced incest in childhood or adolescence. The Personnel and Guidance Journal, January, 275-279.

Faulkner, N. (1996). Sexual Abuse Recognition and Non-Disclosure of Young Adolescents. Ann Arbor: UMI. OCLC 35693021.

Finkelhor, D. & Browne, A. (1986). Impact of child sexual abuse: a review of the research. Psychological Bulletin, 99, 66-77.

Finkelhor, D., Hotaling, G., Lewis, I. A. & Smith, C. (1990). Sexual abuse in a national survey of adult men and women: Prevalence, characteristics, and risk factors. Child Abuse & Neglect, 14, 19-28.

Gilbert, N. (1988). Teaching children to prevent sexual abuse. The Public Interest, 93, 3-15.

Groth, A. N. (1979). Men Who Rape. New York: Plenum Press.

Herman, J. & Hirschman, L. (1977). Father-daughter incest. Signs, 2(4), 735- 756.

Janssen, M. R. (1984). Incest: Exploitive Child Abuse. The Police Chief, 51, 46-7.

Johnson, B. B. (1987). Sexual abuse prevention: A rural interdisciplinary effort. Child Welfare, 66, 165-73.

Sorensen, T. & Snow, B. (1991). How children tell: The process of disclosure in child sexual abuse. Child Welfare League of America, 70, 3-15.

Swanson, L. & Biaggio, M. K. (1985). Therapeutic perspectives on father-daughter incest. American Journal of Psychiatry, 142(6), 667-674

Tsai, M. & Wagner, N. N. (1978). Therapy groups for women sexually molested as children. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 7, 417-427.

Whitlock, K. & Gillman, R. (1989). Sexuality: a neglected component of child sexual abuse education and training. Child Welfare, 68, 317-29.

Yoder, P., Miltenberger, R. & Poche, C. (1988). Teaching self-protection to children using television techniques. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 21, 253-61.

Contact Information

For more information, please contact Dr. Faulkner.

All materials proprietary to Nancy Faulkner, PhD, 1996-2003.