BACKGROUND: Disclosure of child sexual abuse (CSA) is key for abused children to access help and to protect them and other children.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate patterns of disclosure of child sexual abuse and how children perceived responses from people they disclosed to.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: Data were collected online in classrooms and during home studies in a national probability-based sample of 3282 third-year students in Swedish high schools in 2020-2021 (the age of the students varied between 16 and 23 years (M = 18,2)).

METHODS: Results are presented with frequencies (n) and percentages (%). Pearson's chi-squared test was used for comparisons between groups.

RESULTS: First, a substantial share of abused girls and most abused boys had not yet told anyone about the abuse, leaving them unable to access protection or rehabilitation. Second, participants who had disclosed sexual abuse had most often turned to a peer, more rarely to an adult, and seldom to a professional or volunteer. Third, although the societal responses that the participants perceived were mixed, more severe abuse was associated with more negative societal responses. Fourth, most participants stated that they did not need any professional support. Fifth, among the minority who had sought help, half were satisfied and a third dissatisfied.

CONCLUSIONS: Results showed that most children with experience of CSA did not have access to the protection, support, and rehabilitation that they have a right to. Preventive measures need to target children and young people, while societal responses after CSA, especially severe CSA, need to be improved.

The objective was to explore how children and young people retrospectively described disclosure of child sexual abuse in relation to their own agency. Data consists of semi-structured interviews with 14 participants that had disclosed sexual abuse during childhood. Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed and analysed with thematical analysis. Participants' descriptions of their own agency in relation to disclosure of child sexual abuse, shows that both silence and disclosure can be active choices. By offering children choices trusting them to make decisions for themselves, their sense of control can be increased.

The objective was to explore how children and young people retrospectively described their own strategies to get access to protection and support for recovery after disclosing child sexual abuse. Thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews with 14 young people who had disclosed sexual abuse during childhood shows that the participants adopted a range of strategies to be able to access protection and support for recovery. The strategies include finding allies among adults, arguing their case, resisting adult agendas, taking initiatives, and choosing exit. The results demonstrate how a child’s agency may contribute to the outcomes for a particular child, while children’s opportunities for protection and recovery are both restricted by parental rights and heavily depend on responsive adults pushing a children’s rights agenda.