Child Sexual Abuse: Knowledge, Myth Belief and Reporting Attitude among the General Population in Kerala

Athira M .C; Iftekhar Alam; M Muhammed Fayis

doi:10.34293/sijash.v12iS1-Sep.8169

Athira M .C PhD Scholar, Department of Social Work Pondicherry University
Iftekhar Alam Assistant Professor, Department of Social Work Pondicherry University
M Muhammed Fayis Ph. D Scholar, Department of Social Work Pondicherry University

DOI: https://doi.org/10.34293/sijash.v12iS1-Sep.8169

Keywords: Child sexual abuse, Knowledge, Myth belief, Reporting attitude, Kerala

Abstract

Despite a public health concern, ample myths and gaps in society’s understanding of Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) exist. Not many studies have examined how these myths and knowledge affect CSA reporting attitude (RA). Consequently, this study aimed to address the research gap among the general populace in Kerala. From 170 respondents, the findings indicated more myth belief(MB) among the less educated, males, and joint family members. On the contrary, those with a degree or more than a degree showed more knowledge and females exhibited more RA. A negative correlation was found between CSA MB and RA and Gender, age, knowledge, and MB predicted a 21.8% variance in the RA. MB regarding CSA was found to be an important mediator in the relationship between Knowledge and RA. Reasons that could account for these results and implications are also discussed.