THE CHALLENGES FACED BY SCHOOL COUNSELLORS IN THE REPORTING OF CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE

Ibrahim S. Esin, Mustafa T. Sener, Onur B. Dursun, Esra O. Asikhasanoglu, Ismail Secer

Abstract


Identifying and reporting sexually abused children is one of the most important responsibilities of school counsellors. In this study, we aimed to determine the challenges of reporting child sexual abuse. We used a questionnaire form that was prepared by reviewing the literature about reporting sexual abuse. Participants were asked to state their level of knowledge of child sexual abuse, whether they had encountered such cases, whether they faced any challenges when notifying to authorities, and the possible solutions to problems encountered during this process. Of the school counsellors contacted, 40.9% of the participants stated that they encountered a claim of child sexual abuse at least once, but the majority of them (47.4%) could not report it to judicial authorities because of various reasons; such as being unsure whether the event was really happening, anticipating reactions towards them or school management, and fearing the school’s loss of reputation in the case of disclosure.

 

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school counsellors, child, sexual abuse, reporting

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.46827/ejes.v0i0.2804

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