The First 72 Hours After Child Sexual Assault: Reporting Children, Young People, and Mothers’ Experiences of Police, Hospital, and Psychosocial Care in Victoria

In Victoria, Australia, children who are reported to authorities to have experienced very recent sexual assault routinely undergo a forensic medical examination and receive psychosocial care. There is very little known about how children and their families experience this process and whether current practices are meeting their needs. This study seeks to understand these experiences by undertaking a thematic analysis of in-depth interviews with 10 children/young people (aged between 4 and 16) and 8 mothers (<i>n</i> = 18). The study draws on constructivist grounded theory methodology and incorporates the contextual-embedded perspective of the clinician/researcher. The study identified three stages participants navigated in the hours following the assault: (a) reaching out for help, (b) hospital processes and procedures, and (c) discharge. Nested within these stages, five key themes emerged: confusion, distress, and minimization when reporting; valuing a caring presence; feeling exposed, vulnerable, and ashamed; being lost in space and time; and going home alone. The need for a sensitive, trauma-informed, accessible, and consistent response to acute sexual assault is discussed; one that acknowledges the experiences and centralizes the priorities and psychosocial needs of the child and their family.