Abstract:

Childhood sexual abuse is a complex life experience that is the subject of great community concern and has become the focus of many legal and professional initiatives. It has been documented in various studies in the literature that child sexual abuse, which is a global public health problem, has negative and long-lasting effects on subsequent mental health and psychosocial functioning, and has devastating consequences for the lives of those exposed to this type of abuse. For this reason, the explanation of the abuse to which the child has been exposed plays a critical role in ensuring that the protection and justice system implements child protection and intervention procedures and initiates therapeutic intervention. However, children and young people often prefer to hide their sexual abuse, which causes the abuse to continue and prevents the child from accessing support systems. So, a detailed understanding of the obstacles and facilitators in the way of explanation is of great importance for professionals and researchers working in the field. This literature review focuses on information, theoretical approaches and research findings aimed at explaining the sexual abuse suffered by children. In addition, practical implications and recommendations for experts and researchers working in the field are presented in the study.

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