While further research would be valuable in specific areas, overall the evidence is compelling that CSA is associated with an increased risk of adverse outcomes in almost every sphere of victims and survivors’ lives, and that this risk can persist across their lifespan. This harm also has knock-on impacts for family members of the victims and survivors, and for wider society in both financial and less tangible ways. It is apparent from the evidence reviewed, however, that sustained adverse outcomes are not inevitable. Both resilience and recovery are possible for victims and survivors, and a number of protective factors have been identified which increase their likelihood. These include the receipt of effective support services and a positive and sensitive response from family, friends and professionals following disclosure of CSA.
In spite of the extent of the available evidence on this issue, this review has nonetheless identified a wide range of gaps in knowledge about the impacts of CSA, the way in which those impacts differ for various groups of victims and survivors, and the risk and protective factors which can impede or promote resilience and recovery.
In the view of the authors of this review, and in relation to the research questions stated in Chapter 1, the key evidence gaps include:
There is also a general paucity of high-quality studies which use random probability samples and matched comparison groups to draw conclusions about the relative prevalence of outcomes of interest among victims and survivors, compared with the general population. Further studies of this type, along with longitudinal studies which allow the trajectories of victims and survivors across their life course to be explored, would add significant value to the evidence base on the impacts of CSA.