It is well known that many victims of historic child sexual abuse do not disclose what has occurred until much later in life. This consequently has a devasting impact on the individual’s mental health and sense of self. In the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse (“the Royal Commission”) Dr Quadrio gave evidence as to the sleeper effect, stating the following:
“About 20 to 40 per cent of children who have been abused won’t show any symptoms at all, and that’s because some of them are what we describe as “resilient”: children who somehow survive trauma… but some of those apparently non-symptomatic children become symptomatic later on. That’s called the sleeper effect: that they look fine at the time and then some years later something else triggers it.”
When diagnosing individuals who have experienced trauma, experts use a set of specific criteria in identifying the consequences of the abuse. It is well established that some of the long-term effects include the following:
- Impact on the child’s development;
- Mental health;
- Interpersonal relationships;
- Physical health;
- Sexual identity, gender identity and sexual behaviour;
- Connection to culture;
- Spirituality and religious involvement;
- Interactions with society; and
- Education, employment and economic security.
One survivor who gave evidence to the Royal Commission noted the following:
“As a victim, I can tell you the memories, sense of guilt, shame and anger live with you every day. It destroys your faith in people, your will to achieve, to love, and one’s ability to cope with normal everyday living. It has [been] and is an enormous struggle to stay on top of life.”
At Chamberlains Law Firm we take a trauma informed approach when dealing with our clients. We often seek counselling for the individual in the early stages of the process to ensure they have the support they need.
