Support for child victims of sexual violence who live with intellectual disabilities: an analysis of online Australian resources

Children who live with an intellectual disability are at significant risk of experiencing sexual victimisation, yet they are also confronted with additional barriers to disclosures, including the role that carers might assume to facilitate support. While help-seeking journeys are complex, the availability of online information and resources can equip a victim or secondary victim with the requisite knowledge to decide whether and how to seek help. This paper reviews what is known about the victim support sector in Australia and its capacity to support children with intellectual disabilities who have been sexually victimised. It considers factors that underpin a decision to access support services such as perceived need, self-efficacy and the availability of online resources. The paper draws from Liang et al.’s (2005) conceptual framework of help-seeking and analyses publicly available service-focused data sources. Findings from our online search revealed that few specialist sexual violence services appear to specifically support the needs of children who live with intellectual disabilities. Targeted support and accessible online information, for children and carers, may help to facilitate uptake of help-seeking and enable the provision of support for child victims.