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A systematic review was conducted to find out what is known about the prevalence and nature of physical child abuse in Saudi. The review identified 15 abuse prevalence studies carried out in Saudi Arabia between 1998 and 2016, written in English or Arabic. An analysis of these revealed the known prevalence of different types of child abuse, the relationship of the abuser to the victim, and the level of awareness among school professionals of procedures and programs in Saudi to protect children from abuse. The review revealed many shortcomings of existing literature, including a paucity of published studies, lack of rigor in research design, an absence of data from many parts of the country, and an emphasis on hospital reports rather than data collected directly from victims. Studies conducted to date suggest that physical abuse of children is more widespread and severe in the Kingdom than previously acknowledged.

This study explores views of young child abuse survivors, whose abuse was unknown to child protection, about confidentiality. Survivors involved with charity Eighteen And Under (n = 185) were invited to participate. A total of 140 participated. Eight aged 12-20, two males and 6 females chose involvement as researchers and participants and 132 aged 11-30, 25 males, 114 females and one non-gendered chose participant involvement. Eighty-five percent (n = 117) were survivors of child sexual abuse and 15% (n = 23) were survivors of child abuse. Utilizing participatory action research, researchers designed and analyzed qualitative and quantitative data gathered through surveys, interviews, focus groups, online-chats and graffiti walls. A social construction thematic approach analyzed data. Inter-rater reliability was maximized through independent data analysis. The results showed that participants, particularly males and under 16 s, wanted greater protection of confidentiality. Males were less likely to disclose sexual abuse. Two superordinate themes were identified: (a) limited confidentiality led to fear of loss of control and trust and (b) retractions of abuse and higher levels of confidentiality led to talking openly, feeling respected and believed and a sense of control and empowerment. Two further themes were identified from young researcher reports: improved self-esteem and positive life changes. In conclusion, young people unknown to services want greater confidentiality than is currently offered. Participative research was emancipatory, and further participatory research with young CSA survivors is needed. Keywords Confidentiality. Child sexual abuse. Young people. Participatory. Child protection Prevalence rates of child sexual abuse (CSA) vary depending on definitions, populations and methodologies. Incidence figures for CSA range from 0.1 (Morgan and Kena 2018) to 7% (Flatley 2016); compared with prevalence statistics with a range of 11.3

The current systematic narrative literature review sought to discover young child sexual abuse (CSA) survivors, unknown to child protection services, views on confidentiality. Due to the paucity of research on young CSA survivors, the review was widened to include users of sexual health services. Seventeen databases were searched and results were refined by reading titles, abstracts then followed by full text. Analysis involved an exploratory interpretist approach to identify conceptual themes and research methodologies. Fifteen published papers were identified. Research methods were narrow and included surveys, interviews, and focus groups, with limited youth participation. In addition to the theme of confidentiality essential to this study, themes identified included-needing accurate information about services, the importance of someone non-judgemental to talk to, control over decisions affecting their lives, and better access to services. Studies indicated young people were fearful of child protection involvement. In conclusion, studies suggest young survivors unknown to child protection services need a higher level of confidential services and more control of their information. Further research involving young survivors in participatory methods is needed to explore issues of confidentiality, survivor participation, and fear of child protection agencies.

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