Breaking the Silence: Advocates’ Language Preferences and Views on Raising Public Awareness of Child Sexual Abuse

The expertise derived from lived experience is now recognised as a valuable and legitimate form of knowledge across a range of fields. In the domain of child sexual abuse, advocates have been central to elevating the importance of experiential knowledge for improving child safety and securing justice for victims and survivors. This article presents findings from world-first research on awareness raising by capturing the lived experience expertise of advocates. A networked sample of 78 Australian advocates participated in an original, mixed methods survey. Results reveal that advocates possess sophisticated and coherent knowledge of effective communication that may inform future strategies for raising public awareness of child sexual abuse. The study found that clear and direct language, authenticity and credibility were priorities, along with a message of solidarity with those affected.