#WhyIDidntReport: Reasons why young Israelis do not submit complaints regarding sexual abuse. (August 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Dolev-Cohen, Michal; Ricon, Tsameret; Levkovich, Inbar
• Is Part Of: Children and youth services review. Volume 115(2020)
• Publication Date: 2020-08
• Subjects: #WhyIDidntReport -- Sexual abuse -- Children -- Adolescent -- Reporting -- Disclosure; Social work with children -- Periodicals; Social work with youth -- Periodicals; Adolescent -- Periodicals; Child Welfare -- Periodicals; Social Work -- Periodicals; Service social aux enfants -- Périodiques; Service social à la jeunesse -- Périodiques; Electronic journals; 362.705
• DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105044
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0190-7409

Abstract

Highlights: A review of 91 texts posted on social networks responding to #WhyIDidntReport. Findings revealed young Israelis' 5 main retrospective reasons for not reporting sexual abuse. Novel use of authentic self-presentation posts as data for content analysis. The Internet provided a safe place for sharing while maintaining anonymity. Abstract: Sexual abuse among children and adolescents is a worldwide problem that concerns welfare and caregiving organizations as well as the police. The hashtag #WhyIDidntReport, which surfaced on social media networks in 2018, provided a platform for the victims of sexual abuse to tell their stories and explain why they chose not to report. The current research seeks to examine texts written in Hebrew, in which individuals describe retrospectively the reasons they did not report incidents of sexual abuse that they experienced as children or adolescents. Using the content analysis approach, three researchers read in depth the contents of 91 texts, marked major themes that emerged from the texts, and identified subcategories and classifications. The findings revealed five main reasons for not reporting sexual abuse: (1) relationship between superior and subordinate; (2) self-blame on the part of the victim; (3) assumption that no one would believe the victim; (4) minimization and repression of the abuse; (5) feelings of disappointment after (one's own or others') experience of reporting. Hence, it appears that the victims experience difficulty not only in coping with the harmful event and its effect on their lives, but also in reporting the incident. Many of them are left bearing the brunt of this abuse alone, because there is no place where they can feel safe to report and divulge information about the experience. These findings indicate that the authorities need to create and provide a safe space for reporting abuse, by both improving the efficacy of the police procedures and changing the social norms.