Pam Miller, NSPCC Debbie Allnock, University of Bedfordshire

1. 1
Do Children Disclose? The
implications of
methodology on research
and practice understanding
Pam Miller, NSPCC
Debbie Allnock, University of Bedfordshire

2. 1. What is disclosure?
2. How is it measured?
3. Implications
Presentation

3. 1. Different views of what is meant by disclosure
and how to measure disclosure
2. Knowing the disclosure rate means that we
must know the nondisclosure rate. That implies
that we know prevalence of both abuse and
non-disclosure rates
3. Most disclosure research focuses on disclosing
sexual abuse. Limits understanding other forms
of disclosure
Defining Disclosure

4. *Adapted from Alaggia R. (2004) Many ways of telling: expanding conceptualizations of child sexual
abuse disclosure. Child Abuse & Neglect 28
Types of Disclosure*
Types of
Disclosure
Description
Purposeful Intentional disclosure of sexual abuse through direct verbal
means.
Accidental Third-party detection through witnessing, physical evidence and
symptoms, which results in verification of abuse
Elicited/prompted Disclosure through investigative interviewing, counselling, art,
play or talk therapy, supportive environments.
Behavioural Victim intentionally attempts to tell through behaviour, non-
verbal communication, or indirect verbal hints
Purposefully
withheld
Despite opportunities or interventions to disclose, the victim
chooses not to tell. Includes false denial.
Triggered Disclosure precipitated by recall of heretofore forgotten or
repressed memories of sexual abuse

5. 1. Very little research that focuses disclosure in a
child centred manner
2. Often research is conducted on data that is
used to measure other factors
3. Most disclosure research focuses on disclosure
of sexual abuse
4. Survey vs interview
– Survey disclosure questions are often tied to
specific forms of abuse
How is disclosure measured?

6. The study asked "who do you turn to?" but note the
shift in focus of the title!
Key areas of exploration were:
• The informal support structures (family, friends)
• Child protection/safeguarding services (police, social
work)
• Other formal support structures (teachers, etc)
Our definition of disclosure took into account the
young people’s lived experience.
No One Noticed: Key Aims/Definitions

7. • Mixed methods study of disclosures of abuse
• 60 young adults
• Recruitment
– 13 participants who had taken part in earlier NSPCC child maltreatment
study (only qualitative follow ups)
– Remainder were recruited via NSPCC website, universities, and services
• Tools:
– NSPCC child maltreatment survey (CASI) (demographics and abuse and
victimisation experiences; 43 types across different domains using
adapted JVQ)
– Interview guide for qualitative follow ups (disclosure experiences and
journeys)
• Ethics
– NSPCC ethical approval
– £30 high street voucher
– Follow-up support available from counsellor (4 x telephone sessions)
Methodology

8. • 7 males, 53 females
• 92% White British
• 43% reported a disability (most reported ‘other’ in the survey but
did not specify)
• 10% reported special educational needs
• High rates of victimisation reported in survey (across 43 types of
victimisation/abuse)
– 92% reported peer violence
– 94% reported physical violence
– 92% reported having witnessed domestic violence
– 95% reported having experienced CSA (only 73% told us about this in
the follow ups)
– 84% reported having witnessed community violence
– 82% considered to be ‘poly-victims’ (15+ types of victimisation/abuse)
The young people

9. Mode of Disclosures
• Direct, purposeful most
(quite) common
• Indirect verbal
• Partial
• Behavioural
(signs/symptoms)
• Accidental
• Prompted
• Retracted
• Assisted
Cause being five you don’t, you don’t
know these things do you? You don’t
know what’s happening to you and erm it
finally clicked and I was like, ‘Actually I
would rather go and stay with the other
grandparents, I’d rather stay with my
dad’s parents this weekend rather than
my mother’s parents so, and erm... When
it eventually clicked that something wasn't
right, I'd say 'Oh grandpa's snores all the
time he keeps me awake at night'. Just to
try and push him out more than anything.
It wasn't a particularly nice time for me
and I often begged my granny, saying
'No, no I don't want him in the room' sort
of thing and he would then have to sleep
on the sofa.
[Female, sexually abused by step-
grandfather, from age 5 to 11]

10. Did young people disclose?

11. Examples of disclosure
Erm and she noticed that
there was something going on
and something wrong, she
was like 'Oh you're acting
really weird' erm, so I opened
up to her
…
because umm, at school, I, I
was, I just started crying,
randomly, and then I, it just
all came
Young woman who was sexually
abused was asking questions about
appropriate behaviour by a peer that
wasn’t abuse .
I was like 'well I didn't' I kinda, I
asked him to stop and he stopped,'
she went 'right fair enough, all it was
was curiosity, okay, you didn't want
it, you asked him to stop, he
stopped, but it was curiosity' and
then I went 'right and what if' and I
and then I said, like, 'what if my
grandpa does it?

12. Headline Messages for Practitioners and
the Public
• Starved boy Daniel Pelka 'invisible' to professionals (BBC News 17
September 2013)
• Serious case review says murdered teenage mother was 'invisible' to
services http://www.cypnow.co.uk/cyp/news/1073450/serious-review-
murdered-teenage-mother-invisible-services#sthash.VD9DzhRc.dpuf
• Birmingham children's chief 'cannot guarantee' child safety
Birmingham children's services missed opportunities to save three-year-old
Keanu Williams in the weeks before he was beaten to death by his mother.
A report describes how the child became "invisible". (Channel 4, Oct 3
2013)

13. Implications
• Professionals should be aware of the potential
limitations of research that guides their practice
• There needs to be a clear recognition of who
should be taking action: professionals vs victims
• False sense of security – children don’t disclose
• How often are missed disclosures leading to
greater time lags in attempting to be heard
again
• Disclosure needs to reflect the young person’s
lived experience, not compartmentalised into
different abuse experiences