Youth Disclosure

As youth-serving professionals, we strive to create a supportive learning environment and cultivate positive relationships with young people. When we succeed, young people are more likely to share their personal experiences. While this kind of personal disclosure can help build connections and create a healthy learning environment, sometimes personal disclosures from young people may catch us off guard. Within the context of comprehensive sexual health education (CSHE), there are specific types of disclosure that may happen.   

Some types of disclosure can initiate strong emotional responses from the person disclosing. Here are some tips for planning for strong emotional responses:  

• Have a plan and place to go for young people that need to take a break or excuse themselves from the learning environment 
• Coordinate with other youth-serving staff such as nurses or counselors to ensure there are additional supports available
• Check-in with the young person privately after the session 

We want to support young people and protect their right to confidentiality. If they come to you with a problem, and you aren’t sure whether it requires reporting, talk with your supervisor without naming the young person or disclosing any identifiable details. If a young person confides in you, clarify your role as a mandated reporter so that they can make an informed decision about what they tell you and the level of detail they provide.   

If a young person comes to you to disclose, make sure to affirm them, present them with options for support (reporting, counseling, talking to a trusted adult), and let them decide how they would like to proceed and what they need. 

The following are different types of disclosures that may happen in the context of CSHE. 

If a young person discloses their gender or sexual identity, there is no legal obligation to report this information to anyone. The ACLU states that it is unconstitutional for public schools to reveal a young person’s sexual orientation or gender identity to others, including parents/caregivers, without the young person’s consent. In Washington public schools, learners have the right to be addressed by the name, pronouns, and gender identity they share with you. Beyond the legal requirements, using people’s names and pronouns is vital to building trust and reducing negative health outcomes. 

Harassment and hostile school environments for gender and sexuality expansive youth directly impact their mental health and academic performance. Inclusive policies benefit all learners which is why experts advise schools to use learners’ chosen names and pronouns. Ensuring support for transgender young people is more crucial than ever, given the rise in legislation and policies that block access to bathrooms, sports, and gender-affirming care. With attacks on the rights of transgender young people, you play a critical role in ensuring that they feel respected and affirmed, especially when they share details of their lives. Respect and trust are part of what makes learners feel safe enough to disclose, and when learners feel respected, they are more likely to be open to disclosure in the future. 

Most young people communicate using smartphones. Several studies indicate that 20% of teens use their phones to share explicit images of themselves, usually with someone they are dating. While information shared with you about sexting or sexually explicit media may require accessing additional support, such as counseling, you are not required to report it.  Sexting was recently decriminalized in Washington State for young people ages 13-17 to protect teens who are consensually sexting from facing potential felony charges. 

In any learning environment, you will have learners who have experienced or are experiencing sexual abuse or assault. Striving to create a safe and inclusive environment means striking a balance between transparency and maintaining appropriate boundaries. If you suspect a young person has been or is being sexually abused, sexually exploited, or injured by anyone, not just a caregiver, you are legally obligated to report it per RCW 26.44.030. Be transparent with young people about your role as a mandated reporter to ensure they have as much control as possible about how and when disclosures happen. 

Signs that a young person may be experiencing abuse:  

• The young person tells you they have experienced or are experiencing abuse.  
• The young person confides in you that another person was exploited.
• The young person acts, exhibits, or responds in atypical ways: 
  • Regressing in behavior  
  • Clinging to you or another staff person  
  • Seeming irritable, hostile, or depressed; sleeping in the learning environment; or lacking energy
  • Reporting headaches, stomach aches, no appetite  
  • Being reluctant to leave at end of the day  
  • Wearing many layers of clothing even in warm weather 

With the exception of a young person who tells you they have experienced or are experiencing abuse, it is important to note that these signs may indicate issues other than abuse. If someone demonstrates these behaviors, check in with them about their social emotional health, mental health, and physical safety in and outside of the learning environment. In some cases, it may be best to refer the young person to another professional, like a counselor. 

How we respond to disclosures can have a lasting effect on a young person. It is important to be informed on best practices to support young people during the disclosure process.  

Do: Disclose mandated reporter status Don’t: Promise confidentially  

As a mandatory reporter, if a minor is being abused, you must report it to child protective services. Many conversations can remain confidential, but let the learners know the limits. Young people deserve to exercise informed consent over what they share. If a young person is encouraged to disclose, believing it was confidential, it can seriously erode their trust in youth-serving professionals and other adults. 

Do: Mirror language Don’t: Name someone else’s experience  

It’s important for trauma survivors to control how they describe their experiences. Listen to the language the young person uses and reflect it when you discuss their experiences. If your experience and instinct suggest that additional framing might help the young person understand their experience, you may say something like, “Everyone has the right to define their own experience. Sometimes hearing the ways others describe their experiences helps us learn words to describe our own. Can I share with you some words that other people might use to describe what you experienced?” 

Do: Address immediate needs but offer choices ​Don’t: Act authoritatively  Abuse is a violation, because it takes power and control away from the person experiencing it. Feeling powerless is a side effect of trauma. Offering choices whenever possible can help restore a sense of power and control. Being overly authoritative or telling someone what to do can make them feel even more powerless.  

Do: Let them share at their own pace ​Don’t: Ask prying questions or investigate ​ If someone feels interrogated during their disclosure, they might be hesitant to disclose in the future. While there may be considerations regarding immediate safety, allow the young person to share what they’re comfortable with at their own pace. Before asking questions, consider whether the information is pertinent or a curiosity.  

Do: Take care of yourself ​Don’t: Minimize the impact of receiving disclosures ​ 

Receiving disclosures is hard, even if you don’t feel immediately impacted. Sometimes hearing someone else’s trauma can impact us later, so prioritize some decompression time and don’t minimize the very real impacts of trauma exposure. Check-in with yourself about what would be helpful (talk to a friend, schedule some down time, take a sick day, calling an SA crisis line, etc.) and consider how to advocate for yourself to get your needs met. 

When young people disclose information, you have become a trusted adult for them. Having trusting, supportive relationships with learners helps them develop skills they need for lifelong success. Research suggests that students who connect with at least one trusted adult in school are more resilient and have a stronger sense of well-being. Thank you for being a trusted adult for your learners.  

If you need or want support or advice for yourself or the young person reporting the abuse, seek professional help. In Washington, call 866-END-HARM (866-363-4276) or find a local CPS intake number online. Nationally, check the National Sexual Violence Resource Center.