The trauma brought on by childhood sexual abuse (CSA) typically persists into maturity, with many survivors remaining silent about what occurred. Globally, trauma is widespread, with about 70% of individuals uncovered to at the least one traumatic occasion (Kessler et al., 2017), but CSA stays among the many most damaging and pervasive types of developmental trauma (Mathews & Collin-Vézina, 2019). In England and Wales alone, round 1 in 13 adults report experiencing CSA earlier than the age of 16 (Workplace of Nationwide Statistics, 2025), with long-term impacts together with PTSD, despair, nervousness, and substance misuse (Hailes et al., 2019).
There’s robust proof that psychological therapies, similar to trauma-focused CBT and EMDR will help adults who’ve skilled CSA (Nationwide Institute for Well being and Care Excellence [NICE], 2018). However proof alone doesn’t imply everybody affected by trauma will attain out for assist or obtain equitable care. Earlier Psychological Elf blogs remind us that cultural context, stigma, language obstacles, and belief can all form whether or not folks search assist in the primary place (Taylor, 2021; Tong, 2020; Qiu, 2019).
For adults of South Asian heritage, help-seeking could also be additional influenced by ideas of honour, disgrace, household popularity, and silence round sexual abuse (Begum, 2018; Gill & Harrison, 2019). Regardless of South Asians being the most important ethnic minority group within the UK (Workplace of Nationwide Statistics, 2022), their experiences stay underrepresented in trauma analysis.
A brand new qualitative research by Chen and colleagues (2025) at UCL helps tackle this hole by asking a vital query: what do UK psychological well being professionals and key stakeholders assume South Asian grownup survivors of CSA want, and the place are providers falling quick?
Childhood sexual abuse impacts South Asian communities, however their wants are sometimes neglected.
Strategies
Chen and colleagues (2025) carried out a qualitative research utilizing semi-structured interviews to discover skilled views on the assist wants of South Asian grownup survivors of childhood sexual abuse (CSA). Individuals included UK-based psychological well being professionals and key stakeholders with related expertise, recruited by means of purposive and snowball sampling. Interviews had been carried out on-line or face-to-face, audio-recorded, and transcribed word-for-word. Information had been analysed utilizing reflexive thematic evaluation. Moral approval was obtained, and cautious procedures had been put in place to assist contributors throughout discussions of this delicate subject.
Outcomes
4 overarching themes had been recognized from interviews with seven contributors (5 psychological well being professionals and two key stakeholders). These themes spotlight obstacles to care and priorities for bettering assist for South Asian grownup survivors of CSA.
1. Limitations to accessing skilled assist
Individuals described a number of sensible and structural obstacles that made accessing psychological well being assist troublesome. These included lengthy NHS ready lists, monetary obstacles related to non-public remedy, and restricted availability of language-appropriate providers. A lack of South Asian illustration inside psychological well being providers was additionally seen as a barrier, with some survivors probably struggling to really feel understood or comfy partaking with predominantly White providers.
Alongside these sensible challenges, contributors highlighted culture-specific obstacles, together with an “further layer” of disgrace related to CSA, considerations about household honour and popularity, and worry of group judgement. Worries about confidentiality, notably when interpreters had been concerned, had been additionally thought to discourage help-seeking.
2. Challenges when partaking with professionals
Individuals highlighted attainable mismatches between survivors’ expectations and the way in which remedy is usually delivered in UK providers. Western fashions that emphasise open emotional expression and particular person identification might be unfamiliar or uncomfortable for South Asian shoppers. Professionals famous that some survivors discovered it exhausting to specific feelings, carried self-blame, or delayed disclosing abuse.
It was additionally highlighted that unhelpful responses to disclosure, similar to feeling dismissed or not believed by professionals or group members, typically diminished belief in providers and discouraged survivors from looking for assist.
3. Reliance on casual sources of assist
Many South Asian survivors might not know that skilled assist is on the market, so that they typically flip to casual sources similar to household, group networks, faith-based assist, or on-line areas. Robust household ties can provide emotional and sensible assist, however they will additionally reinforce silence and discourage disclosure. On-line platforms had been described as useful for offering anonymity and quick access to data.
4. Enhancing assist for South Asian CSA survivors
Primarily based on the contributors’ accounts of the present care supplied to South Asian survivors of CSA, the researchers recognized a number of priorities for bettering care:
- Cultural humility, characterised by openness to studying about survivors’ cultural, familial, and non secular contexts
- Elevating consciousness and psychological well being literacy inside South Asian communities, together with understanding of CSA, trauma responses, and out there assist
- Elevated variety amongst service suppliers, to enhance illustration and therapeutic belief
- Focused, language-accessible assets, clearly explaining confidentiality, therapy processes, and routes to care
- Adapting Western-based interventions and evaluation instruments to raised mirror cultural norms and expressions of misery.
Limitations to care, reliance on casual assist, and priorities for bettering trauma providers for South Asian childhood sexual abuse survivors.
Conclusions
Whereas evidence-based trauma therapies are efficient, they don’t seem to be sufficient on their very own to make sure equitable take care of South Asian survivors of CSA. Sensible obstacles, cultural stigma, and mismatched therapeutic norms can all forestall survivors from accessing assist.
Researchers emphasised that closing this hole requires cultural humility from professionals, better variety amongst service suppliers, and language-accessible assets. In addition they highlighted the significance of elevating consciousness and bettering psychological well being literacy inside South Asian communities, alongside adapting Western-based interventions and evaluation instruments.
With out these modifications, many survivors might proceed to stay with trauma in silence.
Trauma care should prioritise the wants of South Asian childhood sexual abuse survivors.
Strengths and limitations
This research had some clear strengths. It addressed an essential hole in UK trauma analysis by specializing in the assist wants of South Asian grownup survivors of CSA. A qualitative design was well-suited to exploring skilled views, and semi-structured interviews allowed contributors to share detailed views on advanced and delicate points. Individuals had been purposively recruited primarily based on related expertise, and the evaluation adopted recognised tips for reflexive thematic evaluation, with proof of reflexivity and workforce dialogue to strengthen rigour.
Nonetheless, there are additionally some limitations. The pattern dimension was small (seven contributors), and whereas depth reasonably than breadth is predicted in qualitative analysis, the restricted variety of stakeholders might limit the vary of views captured. It’s attainable that professionals most engaged with cultural points might have been extra prone to take part. As well as, most contributors had been primarily based in England and largely practised in London, limiting the transferability of findings to different areas or service contexts.
Crucially, the research didn’t embrace the voices of survivors themselves. Whereas professionals and stakeholders provide essential insights into service provision and perceived obstacles, their accounts can not absolutely seize survivors lived experiences or preferences for assist. This implies the findings mirror what’s seen to providers, reasonably than the complete vary of wants that will stay hidden on account of stigma, silence, or disengagement from care.
Lastly, whereas the researchers’ experience in trauma and cultural points is a power, it might even have formed interpretation. General, whereas the research gives credible and considerate insights, its findings must be thought-about exploratory reasonably than definitive, highlighting the necessity for additional analysis that features survivor views.
This research gives a considerate and credible exploration {of professional} views on supporting South Asian grownup survivors of childhood sexual abuse, however the absence of survivor voices limits perception into lived expertise and multivocality.
Implications for apply
This research has clear implications for psychological well being apply within the UK. For South Asian grownup survivors of CSA, sensible obstacles, cultural stigma, and mismatches between therapeutic norms can all restrict engagement. Due to this fact, providers should pay nearer consideration to how care is delivered.
The findings additionally spotlight the significance of cultural humility reasonably than cultural competence as a static skillset. Clinicians might profit from ongoing reflective apply that encourages curiosity about household dynamics, honour, disgrace, spirituality, and group context. Small changes, similar to explicitly addressing confidentiality considerations, checking for consolation with interpreters, or being versatile about emotional expression, might make a big distinction in whether or not survivors really feel protected sufficient to have interaction.
Importantly, this research additionally units a useful tone for a way we method ethnicity in psychological well being analysis and apply. Reasonably than treating ethnic minority communities as a single, homogeneous group, it demonstrates the worth of focussing on the wants of particular communities. This extra nuanced method permits us to maneuver past broad generalisations and opens the door to additional work exploring variations inside South Asian communities themselves and different ethnic minority teams (e.g., Afro-Caribbean, East Asian, and many others).
From my perspective as a psychological well being practitioner who has labored throughout a variety of providers and as somebody from an ethnic minority background, this analysis resonates deeply. I’ve typically witnessed folks from ethnic minority communities being misunderstood, having their misery minimised, or being anticipated to suit into therapeutic fashions that don’t mirror their cultural realities. Research like this matter as a result of they validate these experiences and present that being heard is a therapeutic act.
This research has meaningfully formed how I take into consideration service growth in my very own apply. As a part of my medical psychology coaching, I can be endeavor a service enchancment mission inside an consuming dysfunction service, the place trauma histories are widespread. The findings have helped me assume extra about what it means to widen accessibility for folks from totally different ethnic minority backgrounds, and the way providers would possibly higher recognise and reply to numerous obstacles to engagement. Reasonably than anticipating people to adapt to current fashions of care, this research has bolstered the significance of designing providers that may adapt to the communities they serve.
Supporting South Asian survivors of childhood sexual abuse requires greater than evidence-based remedies and understanding of the cultural context.
Assertion of pursuits
Andie Ashdown has no conflicts of curiosity to declare and was not concerned within the research or associated tasks. AI instruments had been used at a minor degree to assist drafting and replica modifying.
Edited by
Dr Dafni Katsampa.
Hyperlinks
Main paper
Yuqian Chen, Eugenia Drini, Rebecca Appleton, Jo Billings, Shivangi Talwar. (2025) Assist wants of South Asian grownup survivors of childhood sexual abuse within the UK: Views of UK psychological well being professionals and key stakeholders. PLOS Psychological Well being 2(10) e0000454. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmen.0000454
Different references
Begum H. (2018) An exploration of how British South Asian male survivors of childhood sexual abuse make sense of their experiences. Doctoral thesis, De Montfort College.
Gill A.Ok., Harrison Ok. (2019) “I’m speaking about it as a result of I need to cease it”: Baby sexual abuse and sexual violence towards girls in British South Asian communities. British Journal of Criminology 59(3) 511–529.
Hailes H.P., Yu R, Danese A, Fazel S. (2019) Lengthy-term outcomes of childhood sexual abuse: An umbrella evaluate. Lancet Psychiatry 6(12) 1039–1050.
Kessler R.C., Aguilar-Gaxiola S, Alonso J, Benjet C, Bromet E.J., Cardoso G. et al. (2017) Trauma and PTSD within the WHO World Psychological Well being Surveys. European Journal of Psychotraumatology 8(Suppl 5) 1353383.
Mathews B, Collin-Vézina D. (2019) Baby sexual abuse: Towards a conceptual mannequin and definition. Trauma, Violence & Abuse 20(2) 131–148.
Nationwide Institute for Well being and Care Excellence. (2018) Put up-traumatic stress dysfunction (NICE guideline NG116).
Workplace for Nationwide Statistics. (2025) Abuse throughout childhood in England and Wales: March 2024.
Workplace for Nationwide Statistics. (2022) Faith, England and Wales: Census. 2021.
Taylor, L. (2021). Fairness inside IAPT: Socio-demographic inequalities in accessing therapy. The Psychological Elf.
Tong, A. (2020). Culturally tailored CBT might result in restoration from postnatal despair in British South Asian girls. The Psychological Elf.
Qiu, X. (2019). Psychological healthcare for ethnic minority teams. The Psychological Elf.
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