C Lemaigre, E Taylor and C Gittoes, “Barriers and facilitators to disclosing sexual abuse in childhood and adolescence: a systematic review” (2017) 70 Child Abuse & Neglect 39.

This systematic review of research relating to child and adolescent disclosures of sexual abuse found a range of factors in the empirical studies. Multiple barriers to disclosure include limited support, perceived negative consequences, and feelings of self-blame. Disclosure is facilitated by being prompted or asked to disclose. The paper identifies that there is a need for robust, longitudinal studies to replicate research findings and that developmentally appropriate school-based intervention programs should be developed to facilitate disclosure. It also finds that prevention programmes should encourage family, friends, and professionals to identify clues of sexual abuse, to explicitly ask about it and to respond supportively to any disclosures.