Disclosure, reporting and help seeking among child survivors of violence: a cross-country analysis

Abstract

Background: Violence against children is a pervasive public health issue, with limited data available across multiple contexts. This study explores the rarely studied prevalence and dynamics around disclosure, reporting and helpseeking behaviours of children who ever experienced physical and/or sexual violence. Methods: Using nationally-representative Violence Against Children Surveys in six countries: Cambodia, Haiti, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria and Tanzania, we present descriptive statistics for prevalence of four outcomes among children aged 13-17 years: informal disclosure, knowledge of where to seek formal help, formal disclosure/help seeking and receipt of formal help. We ran country-specific multivariate logistic regressions predicting outcomes on factors at the individual, household and community levels. Results: The prevalence of help-seeking behaviours ranged from 23 to 54% for informal disclosure, 16 to 28% for knowledge of where to seek formal help, under 1 to 25% for formal disclosure or help seeking, and 1 to 11% for receipt of formal help. Factors consistently correlated with promoting help-seeking behaviours included household number of adult females and absence of biological father, while those correlated with reduced help-seeking behaviours included being male and living in a female-headed household. Primary reasons for not seeking help varied by country, including self-blame, apathy and not needing or wanting services. Conclusions: Across countries examined, help-seeking and receipt of formal services is low for children experiencing physical and/or sexual violence, with few consistent factors identified which facilitated help-seeking. Further understanding of help seeking, alongside improved data quality and availability will aid prevention responses, including the ability to assist child survivors in a timely manner.

Violence against children during COVID-19: Assessing and understanding change in use of helplines

“…Based on data from 30 countries, only 1 per cent of adolescent girls who have experienced forced sex reached out for professional help ( United Nations Children’s Fund, 2017 ). A secondary analysis of nationally-representative Violence Against Children Surveys data in six countries concluded that the prevalence of help-seeking behaviours ranged from 23 per cent to 54 per cent for informal disclosure, from 16 per cent to 28 per cent for knowledge of where to seek formal help, from under 1 per cent to 25 per cent for formal disclosure or help-seeking, and was only between 1 per cent and 11 per cent for receipt of formal help ( Pereira et al, 2020 ). While primary reasons for not seeking help varied by country, the most common ones included self-blame, apathy and not needing or wanting services.…”

Remote methods for research on violence against women and children: lessons and challenges from research during the COVID-19 pandemic

“… 14 Analyses of the Violence Against Children Surveys in six countries showed that the self-reported prevalence of physical violence was at least 60% and of sexual violence at least 10%, while formal disclosure of physical and/or sexual violence ranged from 1% to 25%. 15 Interviewing children and young people about violence is also central to a commitment to child participation, which emphasises the pivotal role of children in research that concerns their lives. 16–18 …”

‘I went there in an effort to help the child, but you can see there is corruption in the world’: Adults’ conceptualisations and enactments of child protection in schools in a challenging context

“…At the same time, there is also a clear need for interventions to address the tendency in this setting to hold children accountable for abuse, alongside approaches that address unequal gender norms that underpin blame for girls experiencing sexual exploitation and abuse. Blame and stigmatisation leaves children unsupported, strengthens inequalities and, further, underpins children’s reluctance to come forward [ 15 , 63 , 64 ]. Violence in schools, and responses to it, are closely related to gender norms and inequalities, and require gender-sensitive policy and intervention approaches [ 27 , 59 ].…”

“…Also in Zimbabwe, amid contexts of adversity where teachers themselves face unresolved challenges, teachers can feel overburdened, demoralised and even resentful of children [7,9], and that their own painful experiences are overlooked [6]. Some studies in sub-Saharan African settings show the potential of schools as sites for disclosure and referral to social and health services [10,15,16], or as sites for violence prevention interventions [15,17], however, also highlighting the support, resources and improvements to many schools' everyday functioning needed to operationalise this [10,13,14]. Sociological studies of education also emphasise how schools are sites wherein gendered norms, inequalities and identities can be both formed and reinforced, and that this shapes teachers' interactions with children around violence, as examined in sub-Saharan Africa [18][19][20][21][22], and in Zimbabwe [23,24].…”