DO YOU KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A ‘DISCLOSURE’ AND AN ‘ALLEGATION’? Social Work Sorted breaks down ‘Disclosure’ vs ‘Allegation,’ and explains why it’s so important the two terms are not mixed up.
DISCLOSURE VS ALLEGATION - WHY DOES IT MATTER? Back in 1987, at a hospital in Cleveland, in the Social Work Sorted north of England, two doctors began diagnosing cases of sexual abuse in children. To say the process was problematic would be to hugely undermine the detail of the report and the harm that was caused to children and families. Essentially, one of the main findings by Elizabeth Butler-Sloss was: if professionals are referring to an ‘interview’ as a ‘disclosure’ when they are talking to children about abuse, it means they are starting from a position where they
assume abuse has occurred. WHY SHOULD WE SAY ‘ALLEGATION’? Of course we, as the advocated of their wishes and feelings, have to value what children say. I too have felt the pull of emotion after a child shares their most sensitive information with me. I’ve felt the frustration when what has been said is ripped apart in court when presented as evidence; the disappointment when I have been so sure that a child has been telling the truth. If we are seen to be stuck in a position of belief, we are ultimately opening ourselves up to criticism. If you automatically believe what someone says, then you automatically discount
any other explanations. It’s like saying to the court: ‘I’m closed minded and I don’t consider any other options...so maybe the rest of my evidence isn’t valid?’ WHY ARE WE STILL SAYING ‘DISCLOSURE’? The word disclosure is still everywhere. Maybe it’s because we work with the police, and in police terms, the word disclosure is used differently. I think a lot of the time, it’s bad habits. I can say that because it was a bad habit that I once had too. I picked up on how people in my office were talking, and allowed it to feed into how I communicated. We need to be informed and aware, so that we can pick up on it, and make changes.
