Abuse or Neglect Considerations

Colin R. Singer
May 16, 2021

There could be various circumstances where victims do not report abuse to the authorities. There could also be situations where the authorities have little evidence to substantiate abuse.

The Barriers to a Victim Escaping an Abusive Relationship: These include the victim’s:

Belief that staying is best for the children, or fear of losing custody of children
Lack of employment skills
Financial dependency on the abuser
Inability to afford legal assistance
Fear of court system intervention
Isolation from social or family connections
Attempts at change in the hopes that the abuse will stop
Belief in the abuser’s expressions of remorse and promise to change
Lacks of self-confidence needed for leaving the abuser
Lack of trust in the criminal justice system
Belief in the maintenance of family honour and,
Fear of abandonment by the victim’s family or potential for violence from the family if the victim leaves

The Barriers Specific to Recent Immigrants: These include the victim’s:

Feelings of loneliness, fear or troubles in talking with or relating to Canadians, or be overcome with fear
Religious and cultural constraints
Lack of knowledge of Canadian laws, rights or support services available
Poor language skills, which make it difficult for immigrants to navigate the legal system and to access services
Fear of threats of deportation by their sponsor or threats of withdrawal of sponsorship of family members and,
Fear of police involvement due to past experiences with police in their home countries, especially where police are symbols of human rights violations
Belief in the maintenance of family and community honour

Reasons for Non-disclosure of Abuse by the Victims: These include:

Circumstances like:

Age or development stage (especially for young children)
Physical frailty or disability
Barriers like literacy levels, language barriers or cultural impediments etc.
Geographic or social isolation
Dependency on the perpetrator – whether financially, physically or emotionally and,
Social pressure

Feelings and beliefs that:

They would not be believed
They or their family would be rejected or stigmatized
Their sexual identity would be questioned
They or the abuser would be removed from the home
They would no longer be allowed to have contact with their parents or children
They would be abandoned or institutionalized
They would lose custody of, or access to, their children
The abuser could harm them
The abuser could change and therefore, protecting or shielding the abuser
About family, relationships and child-rearing that emphasise privacy and condone the use of physical punishment
Influenced by gender role beliefs that support inequality and violence in relationships
The child welfare authorities or the criminal justice system would not be able to help or protect them and,
The child welfare authorities could break up their family

The Lack of Knowledge where:

The victims might not know how to report abuse and,
The victims could fear the repercussions of making a report

Reasons for Non-disclosure of Abuse by People who Witness or Suspect Abuse: These include:

Circumstances like their dependence on the perpetrator
Concerns about becoming involved where people fear that:

It would consume too much time or energy to report abuse
They would not be able to cope with the repercussions of becoming involved in the situation by reporting it
They would cause their family and relatives shame and stigma by reporting the abuse

Feelings and beliefs where:

They might not believe that the perpetrator has been abusing the victim
They believe that no appropriate services could help the victim
They do not want the authorities to remove the victim or the perpetrator from the home
They might not believe that reporting the abuse would be in the victim’s best interest
They might want to protect the family’s honour and privacy by not reporting the abuse and,
They might mistakenly believe that physical punishment is not abusive

A lack of knowledge and understanding where:

They might not know about the signs of abuse
They might harbour mistaken beliefs that the abuse is not serious, if they cannot see visible or serious injuries
They might not know about their responsibility to report abuse
They might not know that they could report the abuse: