Why don’t women who‘ve been sexually assaulted come forward sooner? Here’s exactly why

Noeline Blackwell from the Rape Crisis Centre says new figures give us a better picture about how and why women approach this type of disclosure

A new CSO study has informed data on sexual violence disclosure

It seems that every time a high-profile sexual harassment or assault case is reported in the media, the question of why women don’t come forward sooner is scrutinized.

The reasons are manifold, according to CEO of the Irish Rape Crisis Centre, Noeline Blackwell. 

“Previously we had to depend on survivor statements who contacted the Rape Crisis Centre with information,” she explains, “but now new figures from the CSO give us a much clearer picture."

The CSO sexual violence prevalence study has just come out this year and the figures have allowed an insight into a whole lot of new data.

"One of the things they start with," points out Blackwell, "is identifying what they mean by sexual violence in the first place. It really covers a wide range of sexual behaviour and sexual activity, ranging from non-contact activity, like insisting that someone look at pornography or sharing an intimate image without consent. It goes from that through sexual harassment in the workplace or in public spaces through to various types of sexual abuse up to and including rape. So sexual violence covers the whole gamut of experiences of sexual harm that someone can experience."

But the starkest piece of information that came from the CSO survey was that half of adults who had experienced sexual violence did not disclose it. "Mainly because they thought it was too trival or they felt that their behaviour in some way contributed to the harm that happened to them,” says Blackwell.

Shame 

The study found that 66 per cent of those (aged 18 to 24) who experienced sexual violence as an adult and disclosed it told a friend first. It also shows that 36 per cent of women didn’t disclose the sexual violence they’d suffered because they felt ashamed or embarrassed. Just 12 per cent of adults who had experienced sexual violence as a child and disclosed it to someone went on to disclose it to police.

Blackwell says that it’s extraordinary, in this area of intimacy violence how many people think that this experience only happened to them. “They think they are either stupid or that they were doing something wrong that allowed these things to happen. So when a case comes out in the public, sometimes it’s extremely helpful for people to recognise that they are not to blame, but also that they are not isolated. 

"Interestingly, as part of our consent project. we have set up a website called ‘we speak’ which allows people anonymously to tell their stories and to tell their accounts of sexual violence in their own words. They don’t name anyone, and we are careful to be totally anonymous along the way, but many people find it helpful because they start to see that their reaction isn’t an overreaction. We are hoping that people can see this and say 'yes, this happened to someone else and it’s possible to move on and heal'. So understanding you are not alone is really crucial," says Blackwell. 

Safety in numbers?

What about the scrutiny some people get for delaying coming forward?

“There is no perfect time” explains Blackwell. “If you do it early, somebody else says you are trying to ruin their career. Too late, you are accused of jumping on the bandwagon. So there’s no ‘proper’ way to do this. But one of the things that, again this is survivors' experience I’m speaking about here, is that they know that sometimes if they can go public on something, it may bring someone else who may strengthen somebody else’s conviction that they too can go public about someone who has done harm to more than one person along the way.”

Blackwell says there is a litany of reasons why someone might not immediately come forward. “Perhaps they don’t want to disclose it at the time because they are in a relationship or that it will impact their children at a vulnerable time. Often it has to do with people feeling they are not powerful enough to take on the other person and sometimes there’s strength in numbers there. A power imbalance can silence people and make them feel they can do nothing for themselves. That’s the real danger”.

National Helpline Rape Crisis Centre: 1800 77 8888

- If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this article, please click here for a list of support services.