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TIRCIA · General public

Talking to children about the risk of sexual abuse: a guide for parents

What we know, what you can teach your child at each age, what the law says, and how to respond and find support if your child confides in you

Marie-Agnès Thulliez

By Marie-Agnès Thulliez · Author · Publishing Director20-minute read

A parent and child reading an illustrated book together in a warm living room

It is one of the subjects parents dread most. We are afraid of frightening our children, of “putting ideas into their heads”, of not finding the words. Yet talking to your child about their body, their boundaries and the adults they can confide in is one of the simplest and most useful ways of protecting them.

The revelations of recent months, notably in out-of-school childcare in Paris, have worried many families in France. This guide draws on French and international recommendations to help you approach the subject calmly, at every age, to know what to say and what to do if your child confides something to you, and to get support afterwards.

If you are worried

A doubt, a question, a disclosure: contact your local child protection services; in the UK, call the NSPCC helpline on 0808 800 5000; in the US and Canada, the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline on 1-800-422-4453 (in France: 119, free, confidential, 24/7). If a child is in immediate danger, call your local emergency number: 999 in the UK, 911 in North America, 112 in the EU.

A principle first: protection is the adults’ responsibility

Teaching a child to recognise a situation that is wrong and to talk about it helps a great deal. But the responsibility for protecting themselves must never rest on the child alone. The French national campaign “Brisons le silence” [Let’s break the silence] makes the point: it “is not acceptable for children to bear alone the responsibility for ending the secrecy” (French Ministry of Solidarity, 2024). The role of adults is to talk, to listen, to notice and to act.

What you need to know

Sexual abuse of children is far more common than people imagine, all over the world.

What we knowSource
In France, around 160,000 children are victims of sexual abuse every year.CIIVISE, 2023
Worldwide, nearly one woman in five and around one man in seven experienced sexual violence in childhood.Cagney et al., 2025
In the vast majority of cases, the abuser is someone the child knows, often a family member: 81% of cases among the nearly 30,000 testimonies gathered by the CIIVISE (the French independent commission on incest and sexual violence against children).CIIVISE, 2023
The first abuse occurs on average at around eight and a half.CIIVISE, 2023
Only 13% of children speak about it at the time; many wait until adulthood.CIIVISE, 2023; Alaggia et al., 2019
In the United Kingdom, around a third of child sexual abuse is thought to be committed by other children or adolescents.NSPCC, 2024
Children with disabilities are around twice as exposed.Fang et al., 2022

These figures help correct a common misconception: the danger comes far more often from the child’s own circle than from a stranger in the street. This is why prevention starts with education, dialogue and everyday vigilance.

Does talking about it protect?

Good news: according to the available research, talking about these subjects does not increase children’s anxiety. A Cochrane review of 24 trials, involving nearly 6,000 children, shows that body safety education programmes improve their knowledge and, according to a smaller number of studies, their protective behaviours, without increasing their fear or anxiety. Children who took part also seem to disclose abuse more often, but this result remains uncertain (Walsh et al., 2015). More recent reviews confirm these gains in knowledge (Lu et al., 2023).

These studies do not yet allow us to say that such programmes, on their own, reduce the number of abuse cases. But a child who can name what is happening to them, who knows that it is not normal and who knows whom to tell has a much better chance of being heard and protected.

Programmes for parents often help them, too, to understand the subject better and to raise it with their children (Rudolph et al., 2024).

The key messages to pass on

These messages appear in all the major recommendations, in France and elsewhere:

The key messages

  • Your body belongs to you. Nobody has the right to touch it in a way that makes you uncomfortable or frightened.
  • Private parts are private. They are the parts covered by your swimming costume or underwear. Nobody should look at them or touch them, except for necessary care (washing, the doctor), while explaining what they are doing. And nobody should ask you to touch theirs. Even then, even with someone in the family, if something makes you uncomfortable, you have the right to say so.
  • We use the real words. Naming all parts of the body correctly, including the genitals, helps children understand and make themselves understood.
  • You have the right to say no, even to an adult, even to someone you love. Nobody can make you give a kiss or a hug if you don’t want to.
  • A surprise is happy and gets told in the end. A secret that frightens you, makes you uneasy or makes you sad is one we don’t keep.
  • You can always talk about it, and you won’t be punished for telling. If the first person doesn’t listen, keep going until you find someone who helps you.
  • It is never your fault.

Identify several trusted adults with your child: ideally one person who lives with them, and another outside the close family circle (a teacher, a godmother, a doctor).

Sources: Council of Europe, n.d.; French Ministry of Education, 2025; Salmona, 2015; Western Health and Social Care Trust, n.d.; Contemporary Pediatrics, 2023.

How to talk about it at each age

A parent and child sitting on a bench, seen from behind, facing the sunset

There is no need for “the big talk”. Small, simple, repeated conversations, woven into everyday moments, work better: bath time, getting dressed, a car journey, a visit to the doctor, a book or a cartoon.

From 3 to 6

  • Name the parts of the body at bath time, using the real words, without embarrassment.
  • Introduce the rule about private parts and the right to say no.
  • Respect their refusal of a kiss or a hug yourself, including with family: this teaches them that their “no” counts.
  • Explain the difference between a surprise and a secret that frightens.

From 6 to 11

  • Go over the same messages in more detail, and draw up the list of trusted adults together.
  • Explain that someone they know, even someone kind, has no right to do something that makes them uncomfortable, and that this kind of secret is one they should not keep.
  • Start talking about the internet: we don’t share photos of our body, and if something upsetting appears on the screen, we come and talk about it without fear of being told off.
  • Teach them, too, to respect other people’s bodies and their “no”.

With teenagers

  • Talk about consent, respectful relationships and the law.
  • Discuss pornography, intimate images and online pressure, in suitable words.
  • Raise the subject of blackmail using intimate images, or sextortion. In the United States, its financial form (paying so that the images are not shared) is rising sharply and mainly targets boys aged 14 to 17, but girls are also exposed to blackmail (NCMEC, 2024; Thorn, 2024). The message to get across: don’t pay, ask for help straight away, and remember that the fault lies with the perpetrator, never with the young person (NCMEC, 2024). Dedicated services help keep the evidence and get the content removed: in France, the 3018; in the UK, the Internet Watch Foundation’s Report Remove tool; in the US, NCMEC’s Take It Down. Tell them in advance that you won’t be angry: fear of being punished or of losing their phone often stops young people from speaking up (UNICEF, n.d.).

Sources: Stop It Now, n.d.a; NSPCC, n.d.a.

What protects, day to day

  • A relationship in which anything can be said. A trusting relationship with their parents is one of the factors that most helps children to speak up (Alaggia et al., 2019). Ask regularly, simply, how things are going with the people who look after them.
  • Take an interest in the people and places that look after your child: activities, supervision, the organisation’s rules.
  • Favour visible, group activities, and stay alert to situations where an adult tries to be alone with a child often or to isolate them from their parents (Darkness to Light, n.d.).
  • Trust your unease: if an adult’s behaviour towards a child bothers you, talk about it and ask for advice (Stop It Now, n.d.b).
  • Guide their use of screens: privacy settings, devices in shared rooms for younger children, and above all, conversation.

Out-of-school childcare in France: what we know today

In France, le périscolaire covers school canteens, before- and after-school care and holiday clubs. Nine children in ten attend it today (Aleteia, 2026). This is where many reports have been made in recent years.

  • In Paris, 132 childcare workers were suspended between 1 January and 9 June 2026, 52 of them on suspicion of sexual or sexist violence (Europe 1, 2026).
  • Nationally, a French Senate report published on 15 October 2026 notes that reports of sexist and sexual violence committed by adults in group childcare settings rose by 317% between 2021-2022 and 2025-2026, according to provisional figures. This rise is partly explained by better reporting. The report points to background checks carried out only at recruitment and to responsibility poorly shared between schools and local authorities (Aleteia, 2026).

The City of Paris has put an action plan in place: a reporting line, checks of the relevant registers before any recruitment, display of staff lists and compulsory badges, training for childcare workers and prompt information for families (Ville de Paris, 2026b).

Questions any parent can ask

In Paris or anywhere else, you can ask these questions of the school, the local authority or the holiday club:

  • Who looks after my child? Is the staff list displayed, and do the staff wear badges?
  • How many adults are present at mealtimes, nap time and in the toilets?
  • Are the backgrounds of staff checked, and how often?
  • Whom should I tell if I have a concern, and how will I be informed if a report is made or the team is changed?

Asking these questions is simply part of your role as a parent, with no accusation or suspicion implied, and a serious organisation will be glad to answer them.

Warning signs

The signs vary widely, and none of them, on its own, proves abuse. Conversely, many child victims show no visible sign at all: if you noticed nothing, that is no failure of attention on your part. But some changes should prompt a response, especially if they are sudden and unexplained:

Warning signs

  • a sudden change in behaviour: withdrawal, anger, unusual fear of a person or a place;
  • sleep problems or eating problems, nightmares;
  • regression: the child starts wetting the bed again, or using “baby talk”;
  • new difficulties at school;
  • recurring pains with no clear cause;
  • sexual knowledge or behaviour unusual for their age;
  • in adolescents, risk-taking behaviour or self-harm.

If your child talks about dying, is harming themselves or seems in great distress, act without delay. If they are in immediate danger, call your local emergency number (999 in the UK, 911 in North America, 112 in the EU). Otherwise, contact a crisis line: 988 (US/Canada), Samaritans 116 123 (UK and Ireland), or find a local helpline at findahelpline.com. In France: 3114. These lines also answer parents worried about a child.

In the face of these signs, the recommended approach is to open the conversation calmly, without questioning, and to seek advice from child protection services (in France, the 119) or from a professional (French Ministry of Solidarity, 2024).

If your child confides in you: what to do

An adult’s hand resting gently on a child’s hand, on a wooden table

There is no perfect reaction, and nobody is prepared to hear this. If you reacted badly in the moment, it is never too late to go back to your child: “I was taken by surprise, and I’ve thought again about what you told me. I believe you and I’m going to help you.”

Your support matters enormously. A small study of adults suggests that those who had been supported by their parents after disclosure were doing better, psychologically and in their relationships, than those who had not (Godbout et al., 2014).

What you can say

  • “I believe you.”
  • “It’s not your fault. Nobody has the right to do that to you.”
  • “You were right to tell me, that was very brave.”
  • “You will never be punished for telling.”
  • “I’m going to do what’s needed to protect you, and I’m going to ask for help from people whose job this is.”
  • If your child hesitates: “You can tell me anything that matters to you, I’m here for you.”

Best avoided

  • Closed or pressing questions (“Was it him who did this to you?”), which steer the answer, and requests for details.
  • Investigating yourself or making the child repeat their account: this can weaken their testimony in court.
  • “Why didn’t you say so sooner?”, “Are you sure?”, “It’s not that bad.”
  • Promising to keep the secret.
  • Confronting the person implicated yourself.
  • Letting the child think your anger is directed at them. If you cannot hide your emotion, that is all right: “I’m very upset, but not with you. You did the right thing telling me.” Save your anger for a trusted adult.

Sources: Ville de Paris, 2026a; CIIVISE, 2023; Fondation pour l'Enfance, n.d.; NCTSN, 2009.

What to do, step by step

  1. Stay as calm as possible, and hold the child in your arms if they wish.
  2. Write down their exact words, without interpreting them, with the date and the context of the disclosure.
  3. Protect them: make sure they are no longer in contact with the person implicated. If that person is the other parent, contact child protection services (in France, the 119) or a lawyer before acting: refusing on your own to hand the child over may be held against you.
  4. If the events are recent, see a doctor or go to the paediatric emergency department promptly, if possible before the child washes, and keep their clothes in a paper bag (CFCV and Préfecture de Paris, n.d.). An examination is still useful even if the events are older (Fondation pour l'Enfance, n.d.).
  5. Contact child protection services for advice (in the UK, the NSPCC helpline; in France, the 119). In immediate danger, call 999 in the UK, 911 in North America or 112 in the EU.
  6. Report the events to the management of the school or organisation concerned, if they took place there.
  7. Report to the police. In France, you can file a complaint at a police or gendarmerie station, or write to the public prosecutor. The child’s account is taken by trained investigators, increasingly often in a paediatric unit for children at risk (UAPED), in hospital, where care and the medical examination also take place. Other countries have similar child-friendly arrangements.
  8. Get care for your child from a professional trained in child psychotrauma. International guidelines give first place to trauma-focused cognitive behavioural therapy, delivered with the protective parent or with the child alone, and to EMDR (ISTSS, 2019). In France, regional psychotrauma centres also see children. In France, this care can be covered at 100% by the Assurance maladie (national health insurance): the GP draws up a care protocol for a “minor victim of sexual abuse”, without waiting for a judgment or a complaint. Only reimbursable care is concerned: sessions with a psychologist in private practice generally are not (Allodocteurs, 2021). The Mon soutien psy scheme reimburses sessions with a participating psychologist from the age of 3, without a prescription, but it is aimed at mild to moderate difficulties: for a child victim, first ask a specialist professional for advice (sante.fr, 2026).
  9. Preserve their everyday life: their activities, their friends, their routines. Over-strict protection can isolate them (Ville de Paris, 2026a).

According to the CIIVISE, nearly one child in two (45%) who discloses abuse at the time is neither made safe nor cared for, even though 70% of them had been believed (CIIVISE, 2023). These steps are hard, even for the most attentive parents, and that is precisely why support is so valuable. Professionals and organisations are there to help you act.

Disclosure often comes in fragments. If your child tells only part of it, or takes back what they said, this is common, and no sign that they lied (McElvaney, 2015).

Facing shame and guilt

In the child. Many child victims feel dirty, ashamed or responsible for what happened to them, all the more so when the abuser is someone they loved or admired. This matters: in adolescent girl victims followed for six months, shame was linked to more post-traumatic stress symptoms six months later, and feeling responsible to more depressive symptoms (Alix et al., 2020).

These feelings take more than a single sentence to fade. They need to be heard, and the same messages repeated, patiently:

Words to say again and again

  • “The shame belongs to the person who did this, not to you.”
  • “You did nothing wrong. Even if you didn’t say no, even if you went back, even if you didn’t tell straight away.”
  • “A child can’t defend themselves against someone who manipulates them. It was up to that person to respect the rules, not you.”
  • With a teenager: they may be very troubled if their body reacted during the abuse. Tell them clearly that this does not mean they agreed: it is a physical reaction, not consent (NCTSN, 2009).

In you, the parent. Shock, anger, disbelief and above all guilt at “not having seen” are very common reactions. The only person responsible is the abuser (NCTSN, 2009), who usually acts out of the parents’ sight. These events may also reawaken your own history: many adults themselves experienced abuse in childhood without ever speaking of it (What is trauma?; Can we inherit our family’s wounds?). Your child needs a parent who believes them and protects them now, and perfection is not required. Get help for yourself too: it will allow you to keep going over time, and it is one of the best gifts you can give your child.

Getting support with the formalities

Adults walking together, seen from behind, along a golden path towards the horizon

Complaint, investigation, school, local authority, medical appointments: many parents describe a long, exhausting and lonely process. A few pointers, based on the French system (elsewhere, local victim support services can explain the equivalent steps):

  • Get support from the start. In France, the 116 006 victim helpline is free, every day (Justice.fr, n.d.). It refers you to a victim support organisation near you, which supports you free of charge through the formalities, helps you find a lawyer and explains the procedure.
  • Get a lawyer for your child. You can join the proceedings as a civil party on your child’s behalf, with the help of the lawyer, who will follow the case. If the person implicated is a parent, the judge can appoint an ad hoc administrator to represent the child. For rape, legal aid is granted regardless of means (article 9-2 of the law of 10 July 1991). For other sexual offences, it depends on means, with possible exceptions for particularly deserving situations (Assemblée nationale, 2025).
  • Claim compensation. The Commission d’indemnisation des victimes d’infractions (CIVI, the criminal injuries compensation board) can compensate victims of rape and sexual assault, even without a criminal judgment. The time limit for applying is in principle three years, but for a minor victim it only starts to run at the age of majority (article 706-5 of the Code of Criminal Procedure). The lawyer or the organisation will guide you (European Commission, n.d.; Pinel-Botton, n.d.).
  • Keep a written record of everything: dates, the child’s words, exchanges with the school, the local authority or the police. Ask for important answers in writing, and keep copies.
  • Make sure you get answers. If an institution does not respond, you can refer the matter to the Défenseur des droits, the French rights ombudsman, responsible for defending children’s rights (defenseurdesdroits.fr).
  • Connect with other families. Organisations such as L'Enfant Bleu (listening, psychological support and legal assistance, 01 56 56 62 62; L'Enfant Bleu, 2026) and other organisations offering support groups help families facing these situations (Fondation pour l'Enfance, n.d.).
  • In Paris, the OSE listening, assessment and referral unit supports parents and children: 01 87 66 36 42, Monday to Friday, 9.30 am to 5 pm. To report events involving a City employee: 06 17 52 66 21 or signalement-violence-periscolaire@paris.fr. The victim support office at the Paris judicial court (Porte de Clichy) sees people without an appointment on weekdays: 01 44 32 77 08 (Ville de Paris, 2026c). The organisation Paris Aide aux Victimes also sees people by appointment at its two branches, Monday to Friday: South, 12 rue Charles-Fourier (13th arrondissement), 01 87 04 21 36; North, 22 rue Jacques-Kellner (17th arrondissement), 01 53 06 83 50 (Ville de Paris, n.d.).

Dealing with other parents and the school

When the events took place at school or at a holiday club, other families often know, or think they know, which children are involved. The looks, the questions, sometimes the rumours or judgements, can weigh very heavily.

  • Protect your child’s privacy. Speak about it only to the people who need to know in order to help or protect them (Fondation pour l'Enfance, n.d.). Their story belongs to them.
  • Prepare a short sentence for questions: “There is a procedure under way, and we can’t talk about it. Thank you for respecting our child.” You have nothing else to justify.
  • Keep everything off social media, about the child and about the person implicated alike: posting could expose your child, harm the investigation and lead to defamation proceedings against you, because anyone implicated is presumed innocent until tried. In France, the law also prohibits publishing information that could identify a victim of sexual violence without their written consent (article 39 quinquies of the law of 29 July 1881; Actu-Juridique, 2022). You can ask other parents to remove a post that concerns your child.
  • Ask the institution to take responsibility: inform the other families soberly, without identifying any child, and organise an information meeting. This is what the City of Paris, for example, provides for (Ville de Paris, 2026c).
  • Prepare your child with an answer they can give if a classmate asks questions: “I don’t want to talk about it.” They have the right to stay silent.
  • If your child is excluded or mocked, report it to the school as bullying: it is a further form of violence, and the school must act. If it happens online, dedicated services can also help (in France, the 3018).
  • Lean on supportive parents. Many other families are shocked, worried, sometimes awkward, but supportive. Parent representatives can pass on your requests to the school or the local authority without exposing your child.

When a child engages in sexual behaviour towards other children

This is a situation that parents and schools particularly dread. In the United Kingdom, it is estimated that around a third of child sexual abuse is committed by other minors (NSPCC, 2024). The task is both to protect the children targeted and to understand the child engaging in the behaviour.

Normal curiosity or problematic behaviour? Body-exploration games between children of the same age, spontaneous, occasional, mutual and free of coercion, are part of development. Behaviour becomes concerning when it does not match the child’s age, when there is a gap in age or maturity, when it is repeated despite being forbidden, when it causes fear or distress, or when it involves force, blackmail, threats or secrecy (INSPQ, n.d.; NSPCC, n.d.b).

In the moment, if you witness it

  • stop the situation calmly and separate the children;
  • make the child who was subjected to the behaviour safe, and reassure them;
  • clearly restate the rule to the child who engaged in it, without humiliating them or calling them an “abuser”: under the age of 12, guidance from Quebec speaks of problematic sexual behaviour, and this child too needs to be protected and helped (INSPQ, n.d.);
  • write down what you saw and heard, and inform the management of the school or organisation.

Afterwards, each situation must be assessed by professionals. A protocol developed in Montpellier, France (by the university hospital, the CRIAVS and the paediatric unit for children at risk) provides for a medical and psychological assessment of the children concerned and, depending on severity, a referral to the local child protection unit (CRIP) or a report to the public prosecutor. In a situation involving two children, both are considered vulnerable (CHU de Montpellier, 2024). If in doubt, child protection helplines, such as the NSPCC in the UK or the 119 in France, advise parents and professionals alike.

If your child was subjected to this behaviour, the response is the same as for any disclosure: believe them, reassure them, protect them, and ask the school for concrete measures so that they are no longer exposed.

If it was your child who engaged in this behaviour, the shock is often immense. Try not to reject or shame them: that will not help them change. This is a signal that they need help, and it passes no sentence on your child or your family. Such behaviour may be a sign that they themselves have experienced or seen something they should not have, sometimes without their parents’ knowledge: abuse, exposure to sexual content, difficulties around them. Having been a victim of sexual abuse is one of the best-documented factors, even though most child victims never go on to behave this way (INSPQ, n.d.). Have them assessed promptly by a doctor, a child psychiatrist or a psychologist, increase supervision, and accept the support offered: adults have an important role in helping them find other ways of meeting their needs.

What the law says in France

French law today

  • For minors under 15, any act of sexual penetration or any oral-genital act committed by an adult is rape when the age gap is at least five years, with no need to prove violence, coercion, threat or surprise. Other sexual acts are, under the same conditions, sexual assaults. In cases of incest, this threshold is raised to 18 (law no. 2021-478 of 21 April 2021; Actu-Juridique, 2021).
  • Since the law of 6 November 2025, consent is part of the criminal definition of rape and sexual assault: it is “free and informed, specific, prior and revocable”, is assessed in the light of the circumstances and “cannot be inferred from the victim’s silence or lack of reaction alone” (Law no. 2025-1057; Le Monde du droit, 2025).
  • Limitation periods: 30 years after the victim reaches majority for rape of a minor; 10 or 20 years after majority for sexual assault, depending on the child’s age and the circumstances. This period can be extended if the same perpetrator later targets another minor. Even beyond it, a complaint remains possible: it can be heard and can serve other victims (Service-public.fr, 2026).

Bills under consideration, not yet in force at the date of this article:

  • the government bill on child protection, presented on 27 May 2026, adopted at first reading by the Assemblée nationale on 21 July 2026 and expected in the Senate this autumn. It makes criminal record checks systematic for all professionals and volunteers, including in out-of-school childcare, and creates a “child safety order” enabling the judge to act in the face of serious and immediate danger (info.gouv.fr, 2026; Megglé, 2026);
  • a private member’s bill to protect children and combat violence in schools, adopted at first reading by the Assemblée nationale on 1 June 2026, which provides in particular for background checks on everyone working with children, renewed at least every three years (JDAnimation, 2026);
  • the proposed “comprehensive law” against sexist and sexual violence, adopted unanimously at first reading by the Assemblée nationale on 13 October 2026, which provides in particular for a screening interview for every pupil and a designated adult in every school (ASH, 2026).

This article will be updated once these texts are finally adopted.

Need help now?

Need help now?

Concern about a child: contact your local child protection services; in the UK, the NSPCC helpline, 0808 800 5000; in the US and Canada, the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline, 1-800-422-4453 (24/7). In France: 119 (Allô Enfance en danger), free, confidential, 24/7, for children and adults alike, with a chat for under-21s, a form for adults and sign-language access on allo119.gouv.fr (hours shown on the site).

999 (UK), 911 (North America) or 112 (EU): in immediate danger. In France, 114 by text for deaf or hard-of-hearing people.

Online abuse and image-based blackmail: Report Remove (Internet Watch Foundation and Childline, UK) or Take It Down (NCMEC, US). In France: 3018, free and anonymous, 7 days a week, 9 am to 11 pm.

Victim support: local victim support services, such as Victim Support in England and Wales (0808 168 9111). In France: 116 006, free, every day.

Suicidal thoughts (your child’s or your own): contact a crisis line: 988 (US/Canada), Samaritans 116 123 (UK and Ireland), or find a local helpline at findahelpline.com. In France: 3114, 24/7.

(French Ministry of Solidarity, 2025; Justice.fr, n.d.)

Key points

  • Protecting children is the responsibility of adults, not of children.
  • In the vast majority of cases, the abuser is someone the child knows.
  • Talking about their body, their boundaries and secrets does not frighten children: it helps them understand and confide.
  • Simple, repeated, age-appropriate messages: your body belongs to you, you can say no, we don’t keep a secret that frightens us, it is never your fault.
  • If a child confides in you: stay calm, believe them, avoid questioning them, protect them and contact child protection services.
  • Shame and guilt belong to the abuser, not to the child or their parents.
  • Get support: victim support organisations, a lawyer, other families.
  • A child who engages in sexual behaviour towards other children must be stopped, assessed and helped: both children need protection.

References

  1. Actu-Juridique (2021) Crimes sexuels et inceste : publication de la loi visant à protéger les mineurs [Sexual crimes and incest: publication of the law to protect minors]. Available at: https://www.actu-juridique.fr/breves/droit-penal/crimes-sexuels-et-inceste-publication-de-la-loi-visant-a-proteger-les-mineurs/ (accessed 15 October 2026).
  2. Actu-Juridique (2022) QPC : la victime d'agression sexuelle et la liberté de la presse [Priority preliminary ruling on constitutionality: victims of sexual assault and press freedom]. Available at: https://www.actu-juridique.fr/breves/qpc/qpc-la-victime-dagression-sexuelle-et-la-liberte-de-la-presse/ (accessed 15 October 2026).
  3. Alaggia, R., Collin-Vézina, D. and Lateef, R. (2019) 'Facilitators and barriers to child sexual abuse (CSA) disclosures: a research update (2000–2016)', Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 20(2), pp. 260–283. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838017697312.
  4. Aleteia (2026) « La France ne protège pas ses enfants » : le rapport du Sénat sur les violences dans le périscolaire [“France does not protect its children”: the Senate report on violence in out-of-school childcare], 15 October. Available at: https://fr.aleteia.org/2026/10/15/la-france-ne-protege-pas-ses-enfants-le-rapport-du-senat-sur-les-violences-dans-le-periscolaire/ (accessed 15 October 2026).
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This article offers general guidance, up to date at the date of publication. It is no substitute for the advice of a doctor, who alone can make a diagnosis, or for support from a psychologist or psychotherapist.

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