My sister's counselor says she needs to report my sexual abuse even though i'm over 18?

[EveHarrington]

Do you know what extent I need to participate in the investigation?

No idea.

Mine wasn’t working with children anymore so the report went nowhere.

what happens if the person who was abused denies it or refuses to participate in the...

No idea. It probably all depends on how much evidence is present, if there are other victims, etc.

 

[Harmonics]

In the state where I currently reside, my T is not required to report the abuser because of how many years have gone by. In a previous state, I got mixed messages from T and from mandated reporter training with T saying no requirement to report and mandated reporter training saying always report no matter how much time has gone by. When I disclosed some of the abuse in the current state, T said it was up to me what I wanted to do. This T had told me up front that if any abuse took place in the last three years it had to be reported. I know in school, we were taught to always warn the client up front if we might have to report so they have a chance to decide how much detail they want to share...because once we have the details, we would have to report. We were also advised to never report without telling the client first unless the safety of either the reporter or the client was at risk. If you report on someone without telling them, you pretty much destroy the therapeutic relationship.
In this case, I don't see how this counselor can report third-hand info, and calling you seems to be stepping outside the boundaries of a client relationship. In any case, if there was an investigation, you are not required to participate, and you can refuse to confirm or deny anything if that is your choice.

 

[Justmehere]

How old is your sister?

In my state, if she is under 18, then yes, this may be a mandatory report situation. If there is any other minor in immediate harms way, that is also a likely mandatory report situation. There also may be other reasons for reporting the abuse that she isn’t sharing with you, due to confidentiality, and is including your sisters comments about the abuse to you as part of a larger report.

But, if those situations don’t apply, it actually seems a bit strange she thinks she has to report this. If therapists had to report every time an adult mentioned abuse, then trauma therapists would be doing nothing else but filing reports all day.

Then again, laws will vary from state to state and country to country.

If it’s a University counseling clinic, I’d suggest calling and speaking to a supervisor. Usually they are pretty tightly supervised, but who knows. A call to the clinic supervisor might help make sure this is all being done correctly.

Also, I agree with what others have said about your right to not speak to anyone investigating the abuse. Totally your right. If law enforcement get a report, it’s all hearsay at this point. It’s what a therapist is saying a client said a 4th party said. It is unlikely to go anywhere unless there is other abuse included in the report (which you may not be aware of) that others verify or you cooperate with the investigation or if for some reason your abuser confesses....

I’d suggest contacting the victim’s advocate for your area if this report does get filed. Get someone involved who is totally looking out for you as you handle whatever might come next. If you are in the US, Rainn.org can connect you to local victim advocacy resources so you really know your rights well and have support in dealing with this matter.

 

[TTinKKerBBell]

I too think that today it is about the Children he has assess to. A pedophile remains a pedophile. I'm sorry for Your experience but I would feel compelled to stop him from ever abusing another child. I'm sure You'll make the right decision. Good luck

 

[GraceH]

I too think that today it is about the Children he has assess to. A pedophile remains a pedophil...

I have the same inclination. I suppose I wasn't wondering if she had the moral right, because I agree that she does, but if she had the legal right.

 

[AliciaEff]

I’m a little unclear about what’s going on.

1- Were you a child when the abuse occurred?

If yes, and the abuser works with children, then it seems very plausible that the therapist is required to report to authorities (maybe not police directly, but the college of psychotherapists who decide where to go from
there) that there are children who are potentially currently in danger because of this.

If no, and you were an adult during the abuse, he would 100% lose his job if you ever reported, but like others said, it seems like a stretch to justify that children are currently in danger based on a hand-me-down story about abuse of an adult.

Bottom line is- the law is likely that she has to report if there is reason to believe a child is CURRENTLY IN DANGER. The interpretation of that is what is fuzzy. Can she really believe a child is in danger if she doesn’t know about the abuse? Is a child really in danger if the assaults were on an adult? Etc.

2- To answer your other questions, I don’t think you can be forced to participate in the investigation if one takes place. Especially if you were a child at the time of the crime.