Child Sexual Abuse
An obvious reason that parents do not report sexual abuse of their children is that they are, in fact, the perpetrators of the abuse. Others fail to report because of a misguided belief that little will be done by law enforcement or the judicial system to apprehend and punish perpetrators. It is not uncommon for a parent to sacrifice the well-being of the sexually abused child in order to maintain a domestic relationship with the abuser.
Mandated Reporters are guilty of underreporting sex abuse because they do not have the faith, as some parents don’t, that child protection or legal systems will handle cases adequately. They may be loathe to report incidences that result in families being destroyed. Others have a vested interest in keeping the abuse shrouded in secrecy. Day care providers, for instance, have a financial stake in hiding abuse so that their businesses are not negatively affected by disclosure.
