Gender Differences in Silencing Following Childhood Sexual Abuse

ABSTRACT

The clinical literature commonly asserts that males are less likely than females to disclose child sexual abuse at the time it occurs and take longer to discuss their experiences. These hypotheses were tested in this study. This study included 145 men and 151 women. Participants were asked about disclosure at the time of the abuse and the length of time it took for them to discuss the experience. Comparison across these two studies found that boys were significantly less likely than girls to disclose the abuse at the time it occurred and also took significantly longer to discuss their childhood experiences later in life.

KEYWORDS:

• Child sexual abuse
• disclosure
• gender differences
• male victims

The authors are grateful to all men, women, and organizations that participated in this research. Special acknowledgement also goes to Margaret Darcy of CASA House Carlton for making the phone-in data available and Judith Saebel who provided statistical advice.