Barriers to disclosure of child maltreatment among school-going adolescent girls of a semi-urban area of Delhi, India.

The study examines the barriers to disclosure of child maltreatment among adolescent girls. Stratified random sampling was done among classes 7 to 12 of government girls' schools of a semi-urban area of Delhi, and a total of 1060 adolescent girls participated. Almost 33% of victims of physical abuse, 50% of sexual abuse, 30% of emotional abuse, and 40% of neglect did not disclose their experiences to any support group. The most frequent confidante, in almost two-thirds of cases of all forms of abuse was a friend of the study participant. Among the study participants who did not disclose abuse, the most common reason for nondisclosure was a feeling of shame or embarrassment (40%-80% for physical abuse, 55%-80% for sexual abuse, and 55% for emotional abuse). Among the study participants who did not disclose neglect, 70% reported that they did not do so because they had no expectation of help from anyone.