Adult Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse

Why is child sexual abuse underreported?

If you did not report the sexual abuse you suffered as it was happening, you were not alone. Delayed reporting is incredibly common in all cases involving sexual abuse and assault, including child sexual abuse. According to RAINN, 1 in 9 girls and 1 in 20 boys under the age of 18 will experience some form of sexual abuse. Unfortunately, however, research suggests that only a small fraction of survivors report their abuse to law enforcement.

Just because you did not report your abuse as a child does not mean that your experience should be invalidated. Here are just a few of the reasons many incidents of child sexual abuse go unreported:

Lack of understanding and vocabulary

Many children who experience sexual abuse do not fully understand the implications of their experience until they gain maturity and insight. Even children who have an implicit sense that something troubling is taking place may lack the language to communicate their concerns to a trusted adult. It's also important to acknowledge that – in some cases –  trauma can affect how memories are processed or recalled. Any of these situations can significantly impact a child’s ability to disclose their abuse and lead to lengthy delays in their disclosure.

Relationships and coercion

Research consistently indicates that the overwhelming majority of child sexual abuse cases involve perpetrators who were known to the victim at the time of abuse. This means that children are statistically more likely to be abused by a family member, family friend, or other trusted adult than by a total stranger. This can seriously complicate the disclosure process, as many children worry about getting a friend, family member, or neighbor in trouble if they report their abuse.

Sometimes, abusers may leverage these personal relationships to coerce their victims into staying silent. Other times, a parent or family member may attempt to bury their child’s disclosures of abuse in an effort to protect an abuser with whom they have a personal relationship. These divided loyalties can be a major barrier to the reporting of abuse, particularly by young children who have limited agency and resources at the time of their abuse.

Institutional pressure

It is not uncommon for children to suffer abuse while under the care of institutions like schools, churches, camps, athletic organizations, or even medical facilities. Abuse in these environments can be particularly challenging to uncover, as some institutions have been accused of closing ranks around abusers to preserve their public image. Sometimes, children who are brave enough to report abuse in these settings are silenced by the adults who are supposed to be prioritizing their best interests.

Members of these institutions may go to great lengths to discredit a victim or coerce them into keeping quiet. In some cases, institutions may offer financial settlements in exchange for confidentiality agreements that can delay justice for young survivors and complicate the legal process should the child wish to pursue action later in life.

These are just a few examples of common barriers to reporting, but there are many other reasons a survivor of abuse would choose to delay their disclosure or avoid reporting their abuse altogether. Because these delays have historically impacted survivors’ long-term legal options, D.C. lawmakers have taken a slightly more expansive perspective when amending statutes of limitations for childhood sexual abuse claims.