Addressing Technology-Assisted Child Sexual Abuse During an Initial Clinical Assessment: A modified Delphi Study

Technology-assisted child sexual abuse (TA-CSA) is defined as any type of sexual abuse with an online element occurring under the age of 18. The literature suggests that victims often experience difficulty in finding support that adequately addresses the online elements of TA-CSA. Research also suggests that practitioners are unsure about how to best approach TA-CSA during initial assessments.

This modified Delphi study with healthcare professionals and researchers as experts was conducted to understand best practice principles on how to approach the topic of TA-CSA when a young person presents to clinical services.

An online, two round modified Delphi study was completed. Round 1 consisited of statements generated from existing published TA-CSA literature. One hundred and twelve participants were invited to complete Round 1. Twenty-four participants responded to Round 1, and of those responders, 15 completed Round 2. All healthcare professionals (10) and eight researchers were located in the United Kingdom. The remaining researchers were based in North and South America, Australia and Europe.

Participants agreed that there is a need to provide practitioners with guidance on how to approach TA-CSA and that asking general questions about online life can help ease into the topic of TA-CSA. Additionally, a clear multi-agency approach and adequate training can provide practitioners confidence in their ability in managing risk and disclosure of TA-CSA.

This study provides important initial findings in approaching TA-CSA within an initial assessment. However, future research is necessary in understanding the transferability of these findings to clinical settings.