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Case 1:20-cr-00330-PAE Document397-2 Filed 10/29/21 Disclosure Patterns in Child Sexual Abuse pressure for young people by providing opportunities to tell may be needed to help young people tell more promptly. However, the lack of control that young people experience following disclosure remains an issue (Ungar ef al., 2009b; Quayle e¢ al., 2012). This highlights the need for dissemination of information directly to young people about the legal process, the possible consequences of disclosure, as well as ongoing developments in legal proceedings when young people and their families interface with the legal system. The more recent focus on investigating those strategies that children use in making disclosures rather than solely on identifying barriers to disclosure is perhaps more helpful in informing awareness-raising campaigns and professional interventions. The author is involved in a large-scale review of children’s files in an assessment service to ascertain those factors that helped children tell about their experiences of sexual abuse. A pilot study has suggested that this is an appropriate methodology for gathering data on children’s experiences of informal disclosure, acknowledging the limitations of such an approach. Ungar et al. (2009a) describe the optimal conditions for disclosure as follows: being directly asked about experiences of abuse; having access to someone who will listen, believe and respond appropriately; having knowledge and language about what constitutes abuse and how to access help; having a sense of control over the process of disclosure both in terms of their anonymity (not being identified until they are ready for this) and confidentiality (the right to control who knows); and effective responses by adults both in informal and formal contexts. Ungar et al. (2009b) support recent developments in prevention programmes that target supportive formal and informal caregivers in being better able to detect the possibility of abuse and support disclosures rather than focusing on empowering children themselves in making disclosures. Their findings in relation to the importance of bridge building for young people to access formal supports are supported by Jensen ef al.’s (2005) emphasis on the dialogical nature of disclosure, and the important role that trusted adults and peers play in the disclosure process through noticing signs of psychological distress and asking young people about their psychological wellbeing (Collings ef al., 2005; Jensen ef al., 2005; McElvaney et al., 2012). More emphasis is therefore needed on providing opportunities for children and young people to disclose. The challenge for professionals and those who care for children is how to do this in a way that protects children and promotes their wellbeing. References Collings SJ, Griffiths S$, Kumalo M. 2005. Patterns of disclosure in child sexual abuse. South African Journal of Psychology 35(2): 270 285. DeVoe ER, Faller KC. 1999.The characteristics of disclosure among children who may have been sexually abused. Child Maltreatment 4: 217 227. Elliott DM, Briere J. 1994. Forensic sexual abuse evaluations of older children: Disclosures and symptomatology. Behavioral Sciences & the Law 12: 261 277. Goodman Brown TB, Edelstein RS, Goodman GS, Jones DPH, Gordon DS. 2003. Why children tell: A model of children’s disclosure of sexual abuse. Child Abuse & Neglect 27: 525 540. Hershkowitz I, Horowitz D, Lamb ME. 2005. Trends in children’s disclosure of abuse in Israel: A national study. Child Abuse & Neglect 29(11): 1203 1214. Hershkowitz I, Orbach Y, Lamb ME, Sternberg KJ, Horowitz D. 2006. Dynamics of forensic interviews with suspected abuse victims who do not disclose. Child Abuse & Neglect 30: 753 769. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Page 34 of 45 167 ‘More recent focus on investigating those strategies that children use in making disclosures’ ‘Having a sense of control over the process of disclosure both in terms of their anonymity and confidentiality’ Child Abuse Rev. Vol. 24: 159 169 (2015) DOI: 10.1002/car DOJ-OGR-00005944