ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the issue of disclosure and non-disclosure of childhood sexual experiences. It describes the main inhibitors to disclosure among children. The chapter identifies gender differences in terms of disclosure. It illustrates the negative consequences of trying to tell an adult, as children. The chapter outlines the ways in which, as adults, some people choose to make purposeful disclosures whereas others choose to make selective disclosures. It describes the lifelong process of disclosure. People often chose not to tell anyone as children because they were too afraid to do so. This was particularly true of the women, although some men were also willing to admit to being frightened as children. As adults, these men and women also discussed their fears for other people in their families. Many of the men described their homophobic responses to their childhood sexual experiences.
