Childhood Sexual Abuse: Factors Inhibiting or Triggering the Disclosure of the Secret

The secret character in the abusive relationship, as well as the child's vulnerability, forces him to remain silent and allows the abuse to be repeated. The objective of this paper was to identify the factors that inhibit or cause disclosure of child sexual abuse. The study is based on the opinion of six young women between the ages of 19 and 27, victims of intrafamilial sexual abuse, who benefited from special protection measures. Based on the interview method, the following were analyzed: individual and family history; the age of onset of sexual abuse, its duration and type; the strategies used by the aggressor in keeping the secret; the way of disclosure and the results obtained afterward. In four of the six cases, the perpetrator was the biological father, and the "secret of sexual abuse" was secured through repeated threats, terrorizing, and physical abuse. Three of the young women revealed the sexual abuse to a friend, respectively to the foster mother (intentionally), one other young woman confessed what happened to them during counseling sessions, and therapy (requested/supported), and one young woman spoke when she was a child to the educator from kindergarten (accidental). One of the participants spoke for the first time about childhood sexual abuse during the present study. Fear of being blamed or held responsible, and feelings of shame contributed to the delay in disclosing the secret.