Respond welcomes the publication of new resources from the Royal College of Psychiatrists addressing the impact of non-recent child sexual abuse (NRCSA) on adults’ mental health.
Our work with adults with learning disabilities and autistic adults shows that the impact of sexual abuse can continue for many years after the abuse took place. Survivors may experience lasting effects on mental health, relationships, trust, emotional regulation and their sense of safety.
For people with learning disabilities, disclosure can be especially complex. Some people may not have had the language, communication support or understanding to identify what happened to them as abuse at the time. Others may have communicated distress through behaviour or changes in presentation that were not recognised as trauma.
When trauma is misunderstood or overshadowed by a person’s disability or diagnosis, opportunities for recognition and support can be missed. Distress may be attributed to learning disability, autism, “challenging behaviour” or mental illness without enough exploration of what may have happened to the person.
Disclosure does not always happen in a tidy or linear way. Survivors may disclose gradually, partially or inconsistently, particularly where there are communication difficulties, dependency on others, previous experiences of not being believed, or abuse by someone they trusted or relied upon.
NRCSA can create an additional layer of disadvantage for people with learning disabilities. They may experience the same long-term trauma as other survivors while facing greater barriers to recognition, disclosure and access to appropriate psychological support. In turn, this lack of appropriate support and/or redress can further compound distress for survivors.
At Respond, we see adults living with the impact of childhood sexual abuse many years after the abuse took place. For people with learning disabilities and autistic people, that experience can be compounded by significant barriers to disclosure, being understood and accessing appropriate support.
We welcome the Royal College’s recognition that services need to change. Trauma-informed care for our service users means more than awareness of abuse: it requires accessible communication, reasonable adjustments, skilled practitioners and sufficient time to build trust and work at the survivor’s pace.
You can access the new resources at https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/news-and-features/media-centre/addressing-the-impact-of-non-recent-child-sexual-abuse-(nrcsa)
