@Solara - I'm a mandatory reporter. I work with minors. I'm no expert by any means - but I am familiar with the laws and reality of mandatory reporting for minors in the US. (I can't speak for other countries.) I go off my own training, experience, and this kind of information like here: [DLMURL]https://www.childwelfare.gov/systemwide/laws_policies/statutes/manda.pdf#Page=5&view=Fit[/DLMURL] I was indeed trying to speak about mandatory reporting realities for professionals working with minors.
Let me try to better explain what I probably very badly explained before:
If a 16 year old came to me and asked to be tested for STDs, and said nothing more, I am not sure that this alone would be enough for me (or any other professional under mandatory reporting laws) to suspect abuse. That is the point I was trying to make before. It common for a 16 year old to get tested for STDs without having the physician doing the testing to be compelled by mandatory reporting laws to inform the authorities about it.
His therapist would not have much to report as well if a 16 year old expressed concerns that if they shared more, the therapist would have to report. It's simply a discussion about fears of talking about specific events of trauma. If the therapist did report based on that, if the therapist did inform authorities that a 16 year old asked their therapist more about mandatory reporting laws and expressed their concerns they have been through trauma they are scared to share because they don't want the police or their mother to find out - frankly, that's not enough information for anyone to really do anything about. It's not enough to trigger much action. Maybe it should, but it doesn't really happen. Frankly, I have seen much more substantial information be reported and the authorities do very little about it... (which is seriously a problem, but a totally different topic.)
The reality is that nothing much actually would happens if I reported to Child Protective Services that a 16 year old was looking to get tested for STDs and that made me suspicious of child abuse. Sure, it would be nice if they did do more, but it's just not what happens. They are swamped and they look for cases with more than just a 16 year old asking for testing for STDs before they jump in and start investigating.
If a 16 year old teenager told me *more* than a request to be tested for STDs, then yes, I would have concerns and there is a high chance I would have to report and there is more of a possibility that child protective services would do more. I have had to report on a number of occasions as I work with at risk children.
I can't speak to what a physician would need to tell a parent in order to have permission do to STD testing. That varies by state and form of payment. Some states offer confidential clinics and testing for teens, some don't...
The reality of mandatory reporting is scary to young victims, but we all should remember that the mandatory reporting requirement is there to protect the person who was hurt and to protect against possible future or other current victims. I hope we can agree that Alex needs help more than his abuser or his mom need to be protected from the truth of what he has been through - and I hope we can all agree that it's still scary and hard to share even when mandatory reporting laws are not applicable.
@Alex - I agree with
@Echo - RAINN is a great organization and they have an online hotline in which is totally anonymous. They can't report when they don't even know who you are. They also can tell you when they have to report and when they don't.
It's also a great idea to change your username here - then you are protected in a number of ways. It should be pretty easy to do.
