Why are so many child abuse cases still not reported to authorities?
Results of a survey conducted by the Marie-Vincent Foundation
Montreal, June 12, 2008 – The first reaction most adults have when a child tells them he has been the victim of physical or sexual abuse is to tell him he did the right thing by coming to them. An almost identical number consider reporting this abuse to the police or the Director of Youth Protection. However, nearly half of them promise not to do anything if the child asks them to keep it quiet.
This information is included in a recent survey commissioned by the Marie-Vincent Foundation and completed by Echo Sondage. The survey was conducted between April 23 and May 12, 2008, via telephone interviews with a representative sample of 1,000 French-speaking Quebeckers aged 18 and over. Its purpose was to help us understand why so many cases of child abuse still go unreported.
The Marie-Vincent Foundation analyzed the reasons why an adult would keep a maltreatment situation quiet when a child confides in him, and put forth several hypotheses.
“People don’t know how to react when faced with a child’s distress, and also feel overwhelmed. They fear being part of any legal proceedings where they might have to testify against someone they know, or think the child is lying and prefer to side with the adult,” says Claude Girouard, Program Coordinator, Mental Health, Youth Cognitive Impairment, at the CSSS Montreal West Island, and Member of the Board of Directors of the Marie-Vincent Foundation.
Surveys commissioned by the Foundation during the past few years show that 84% of the young victims know their aggressor. Mr. Girouard posits that, in most cases, adults will attempt to resolve the situation themselves, without involving the authorities, and that this often penalizes the child, who does not get to benefit from proper therapy services.
In the case of sexual abuse, 78% of the respondents will attempt to gather more evidence before going to the DYP. On this matter, Mr. Girouard tells us that questioning the child further to get more information or clues may have a negative impact on him. In fact, he may end up changing his story depending on the reactions of those who listen to him. Therefore, it is recommended to report the situation to the authorities as soon as possible, so as to guarantee the child’s safety.
While sharing his experience of the past 20 years, Mr. Girouard reveals that emotional elements often affect the decisions an adult makes regarding an abused child. “The adult may feel unable to help the child and prefers to keep quiet, especially if said child asks him to.”
Mr. Girouard concluded by saying that when an abused child asks the adult he confides in to keep quiet, he must interpret this as a sign of fear and possible distress, and not as an answer in itself. Indeed, the child is not in a position to decide whether or not this situation should be reported, or know that there are people who can help him. He urgently needs the support of the adults around him.
The Foundation reminds us that everyone has the legal and moral obligation to report any case of child abuse, past or present, as soon as a reasonable motive can be established. Reporting such situations to the police of DYP is the first step in helping these young victims.
Unknown organizations
This year, the Foundation once again wished to gauge public awareness regarding the resources available to young abuse victims. Results show that 46.6% of respondents are not aware of any resources, while barely 35.6% mention the Director of Youth Protection. Other organizations fare poorly, with percentages between 0.3% and 3.9%, the latter of which is achieved by the CLSC. Tel-Jeunes, CAVACs<ins datetime="2008-06-11T09:30" cite="mailto:Dominique%20Richard">,</ins> Kids Help Phone and the Marie-Vincent Foundation were identified by only a very small percentage of respondents.
Ms. Dominique Richard, Executive Director of the Marie-Vincent Foundation, is nonetheless pleased with the results. “Last year, another survey we commissioned showed that 57% of respondents were not aware of any aid organizations. That figure is now down to 46%. While there is still a lot of work to do to increase public awareness, and 11-point improvement in only one year is encouraging.”
About the Marie-Vincent Foundation
Created in 1975, the Marie-Vincent Foundation’s mission is to help Québec children under twelve who are victims of maltreatment, and more specifically of sexual abuse. It gathers funds to finance the activities of the Centre d’expertise Marie-Vincent and the Marie-Vincent Interuniversity Chair. Each year, the Foundation also organizes a massive public awareness campaign and offers financial assistance to other community organizations helping children who are victims of maltreatment across Québec.
