Sexual abuse can be physical, verbal or emotional and includes: sexual touching and fondling, exposing children to adult sexual activity or pornographic movies and photographs, having children pose, undress, or perform in a sexual fashion on film or in person, "peeping" into bathrooms or bedroom to spy on a child, rape or attemtped rape (Sexual Assault Crisis Center of Knoxville, TN)
Child sexual abuse is the sexual exploitation of a child by an adult, adolescent, or older child. The sexual activity does not necessarily involve force; children are often bribed or verbally coerced into sexual acts. The difference in age and sexual knowledge between a child and an older person makes informed consent to sexual activity impossible (Sexual Assault Facts and Statistics, Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault)
Child sexual assault will affect a child in many ways. Within two years of the assault a child may experience fear, hostility, guilt, shame, depression, low self-esteem, poor self-image, physcial and sleep complaints, sexual behavior disturbances, and poor social functioning (Downs, William R. Development Considerations for the Effects of Childhood Sexual Abuse. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, September, 1993)
Twenty-nine percent (29%) of all forcible rapes in America occurred when the victim was less than 11 years old (National Victim Center and Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center, Rape in America: A Report to the Nation. 1992)
Children are most commonly sexually abused by someone they know and trust. When these acts occur within a family, the sexual abuse is called incest. Since most children seek approval from adults, they are very vulnerable to abuse. They often do what is asked without questioning (National Coalition Against Sexual Assault)
More than 2/3 of boys, who are sexually abused, are abused by men. Eighty-three percent (83%) of victims are under the age of 12; more than one quarter are under the age of six; 8% are abused by fathers or stepfathers (Hunter, Mic, ed., The Sexually Abused Male, Lexington Books, 1990)
Girls who have been sexually abused become pregnant in adolescence at a significantly higher rate than those who have not. More than one-tenth report that their pregnancy is the result of sexual abuse (Ounce of Prevention Fund. Child Sexual Abuse: A Hidden Factor in Adolescent Sexual Behavior. Springfield, IL, 1987)
In 68% of the cases in a study conducted at Tufts University New England Medical Center, the offender coerced the child to comply either through threats or actual physical aggression. Parents were as likely as any other group of offenders to use violence (Gones-Swartz, Beverly; Horowitz, Jonathan M. and Cardarelli, Albert P, Child Sexual Abuse: The Effects. Sage Publications, Inc., 1990)
Approximately 1/3 of all juvenile victims of sexual abuse cases are children younger than six years of age (Violence and Family, Report of the American Psychological Association Presidential Task Force on Violence and the Family, 1996)
Children are often groomed for sexual assault. The grooming process includes building trust, bestowing favors, alienating others, demanding service and violating boundaries (Hotrod, Anne L; Johnson, Barry L; Roundly, Lynn M; and Williams, Doreen. The Incest Perpetrator. Sage Publications, Inc. 1990)
Compiled by NHCADSV
