Prevalence and Factors Related to Delayed Disclosure of Child Sexual Abuse in Benha region, Egypt during the Period 2016-2018
Date
2020
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Publisher
Ain Shams Journal of Forensic Medicine and Clinical Toxicology
Abstract
Introduction: Child sexual abuse (CSA) is a serious breach of a child’s basic human rights.
A variety of distressing short-term and long-term consequences might occur. Lack of
reporting by the victims makes determination of actual prevalence rates for CSA difficult.
Aim: This study aimed to assess the prevalence of child sexual assault and to identify factors
related to its delay reporting by the victims. Methods: This retrospective study was
conducted in Benha Medico-legal Department, Ministry of Justice, from the start of 2016 to
the end of 2018. Detailed medicolegal report of every case was obtained to fulfill personal
data, assault data and data of general and local examination of the victims. Results: The total
number of cases in the study was 155. Most of them were females aged between 12-18 years.
Anal sex was more frequent among males (91.2%) while, rape, attempted rape, and mixed
assault occurred only in females with statistically significant association between gender of
victim and the type of sexual assault. It was found that gender of victim was significantly
related to delayed disclosure. Additionally, there was a statistically significant association
between both the victim’s and the assailant’s ages and delayed disclosure (p<0.00).
Conclusion: Sexual child abuse is a problem in our society and its reporting by the victims
was often delayed. Recommendations: Female children should be encouraged by their
families to report any attempt of sexual abuse early for proper documentation and protection
of their rights. Furthermore, consistent methods and checklist for defining and reporting cases
of CSA are required both in general hospitals and medicolegal institutions. There by proper
preservation and collection of medical evidence could be achieved; to avoid the problem of
lost data and the victim’s rights.
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Keywords
child sexual abuse, delayed disclosure, research, Egypt, International Resources
Citation
Elgazzar, F., Abdelaziz, M., & Khalifa, H. (2020). Prevalence and Factors Related to Delayed Disclosure of Child Sexual Abuse in Benha region, Egypt during the Period 2016-2018. Ain Shams Journal of Forensic Medicine and Clinical Toxicology, 35(2), 14-22.