The trauma attributable to childhood sexual abuse (CSA) usually persists into maturity, with many survivors remaining silent about what occurred. Globally, trauma is frequent, with about 70% of individuals uncovered to a minimum of 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, melancholy, nervousness, and substance misuse (Hailes et al., 2019).
There’s sturdy proof that psychological therapies, equivalent to trauma-focused CBT and EMDR might 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 status, 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 examine 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 companies falling brief?
Childhood sexual abuse impacts South Asian communities, however their wants are sometimes ignored.
Strategies
Chen and colleagues (2025) carried out a qualitative examine utilizing semi-structured interviews to discover skilled views on the assist wants of South Asian grownup survivors of childhood sexual abuse (CSA). Members included UK-based psychological well being professionals and key stakeholders with related expertise, recruited by means of purposive and snowball sampling. Interviews have been carried out on-line or face-to-face, audio-recorded, and transcribed word-for-word. Information have been analysed utilizing reflexive thematic evaluation. Moral approval was obtained, and cautious procedures have been put in place to assist contributors throughout discussions of this delicate matter.
Outcomes
4 overarching themes have 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 enhancing assist for South Asian grownup survivors of CSA.
1. Limitations to accessing skilled assist
Members described a number of sensible and structural obstacles that made accessing psychological well being assist tough. These included lengthy NHS ready lists, monetary obstacles related to personal remedy, and restricted availability of language-appropriate companies. A lack of South Asian illustration inside psychological well being companies was additionally seen as a barrier, with some survivors probably struggling to really feel understood or snug participating with predominantly White companies.
Alongside these sensible challenges, contributors highlighted culture-specific obstacles, together with an “additional layer” of disgrace related to CSA, considerations about household honour and status, and concern of group judgement. Worries about confidentiality, notably when interpreters have been concerned, have been additionally thought to discourage help-seeking.
2. Challenges when participating with professionals
Members highlighted potential mismatches between survivors’ expectations and the way in which remedy is often delivered in UK companies. Western fashions that emphasise open emotional expression and particular person identification may very well be unfamiliar or uncomfortable for South Asian purchasers. Professionals famous that some survivors discovered it laborious to specific feelings, carried self-blame, or delayed disclosing abuse.
It was additionally highlighted that unhelpful responses to disclosure, equivalent to feeling dismissed or not believed by professionals or group members, usually lowered belief in companies 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 out there, in order that they usually flip to casual sources equivalent 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 have been described as useful for offering anonymity and easy accessibility to info.
4. Bettering 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 enhancing 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, remedy processes, and routes to care
- Adapting Western-based interventions and evaluation instruments to higher mirror cultural norms and expressions of misery.
Limitations to care, reliance on casual assist, and priorities for enhancing trauma companies for South Asian childhood sexual abuse survivors.
Conclusions
Whereas evidence-based trauma therapies are efficient, they aren’t sufficient on their very own to make sure equitable look after 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, larger variety amongst service suppliers, and language-accessible assets. Additionally they highlighted the significance of elevating consciousness and enhancing 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 dwell with trauma in silence.
Trauma care should prioritise the wants of South Asian childhood sexual abuse survivors.
Strengths and limitations
This examine had some clear strengths. It addressed an necessary 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 complicated and delicate points. Members have been purposively recruited primarily based on related expertise, and the evaluation adopted recognised tips for reflexive thematic evaluation, with proof of reflexivity and group dialogue to strengthen rigour.
Nevertheless, there are additionally some limitations. The pattern measurement was small (seven contributors), and whereas depth fairly than breadth is predicted in qualitative analysis, the restricted variety of stakeholders might limit the vary of views captured. It’s potential that professionals most engaged with cultural points might have been extra more likely to take part. As well as, most contributors have been primarily based in England and largely practised in London, limiting the transferability of findings to different areas or service contexts.
Crucially, the examine didn’t embody the voices of survivors themselves. Whereas professionals and stakeholders provide necessary 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 companies, fairly than the total vary of wants which will stay hidden resulting from stigma, silence, or disengagement from care.
Lastly, whereas the researchers’ experience in trauma and cultural points is a energy, it could even have formed interpretation. General, whereas the examine supplies credible and considerate insights, its findings needs to be thought of exploratory fairly than definitive, highlighting the necessity for additional analysis that features survivor views.
This examine supplies 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 follow
This examine has clear implications for psychological well being follow within the UK. For South Asian grownup survivors of CSA, sensible obstacles, cultural stigma, and mismatches between therapeutic norms can all restrict engagement. Subsequently, companies should pay nearer consideration to how care is delivered.
The findings additionally spotlight the significance of cultural humility fairly than cultural competence as a static skillset. Clinicians might profit from ongoing reflective follow that encourages curiosity about household dynamics, honour, disgrace, spirituality, and group context. Small changes, equivalent 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 interact.
Importantly, this examine additionally units a useful tone for the way we strategy ethnicity in psychological well being analysis and follow. Relatively 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 strategy 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 so on).
From my perspective as a psychological well being practitioner who has labored throughout a variety of companies and as somebody from an ethnic minority background, this analysis resonates deeply. I’ve usually 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 examine has meaningfully formed how I take into consideration service growth in my very own follow. As a part of my medical psychology coaching, I will likely be enterprise a service enchancment venture inside an consuming dysfunction service, the place trauma histories are frequent. The findings have helped me assume extra about what it means to widen accessibility for folks from completely different ethnic minority backgrounds, and the way companies would possibly higher recognise and reply to numerous obstacles to engagement. Relatively than anticipating people to adapt to present fashions of care, this examine has strengthened the significance of designing companies 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 examine or associated initiatives. AI instruments have been used at a minor degree to assist drafting and replica modifying.
Edited by
Dr Dafni Katsampa.
Hyperlinks
Major paper
Yuqian Chen, Eugenia Drini, Rebecca Appleton, Jo Billings, Shivangi Talwar. (2025) Help 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.
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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) Publish-traumatic stress dysfunction (NICE guideline NG116).
Workplace for Nationwide Statistics. (2025) Abuse throughout childhood in England and Wales: March 2024.
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Tong, A. (2020). Culturally tailored CBT might result in restoration from postnatal melancholy in British South Asian ladies. The Psychological Elf.
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