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Additional Info:
Child Sexual
Abuse
Fact Sheet
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Answers
to Commonly Asked Questions
About Child Sexual Abuse
What Is Child Sexual Abuse?
Child sexual abuse is sexual activity with a child by an adult,
an adolescent, or an older child. When any adult engages in
sexual activity with a child, that is child sexual abuse. It
is a crime in all 50 states. Look in the section called "Warning
Signs" for a listing of both touching and non-touching
sexual behaviors that are considered sexual abuse. When sexual
activity involves another child or an adolescent, it is not
always so clear. Some kinds of sexual behavior among children
might be natural explorations rather than abuse. Look at the
checklists in the section called "Warning
Signs" for help in figuring out whether the behavior
you see is sexual abuse between children.
Is Child Sexual Abuse
Really That Big a Problem?
Statistics show that child sexual abuse occurs at an alarming rate. As many as one in three girls and one in seven boys will be sexually abused at some point in their childhood, according to most reliable studies of child sexual abuse in the United States. (Briere, J., Eliot, D.M. Prevalence and Psychological Sequence of Self-Reported Childhood Physical and Sexual Abuse in General Population……: Child Abuse and Neglect, 2003, 27 10).) That means that in a class or concert of 100 people, as many as 20 to 30 of those in the room were sexually abused as children.
Why Do I Need to Know
About Sexual Abuse and the People Who Sexually Abuse Children?
We need to know about sexual abuse because sexual abuse of
children is all around us in our homes and communities.
More than 300,000 children are sexually abused each year.
(Finkelhor, D., H. Hammer, and A.J. Sedlak, Sexually assaulted children: National estimates and characteristics, in Juvenile Justice Bulletin. In press, Office of Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention: Washington, D.C.)
Sex Offender Registry Laws have been established to keep track of people who have been convicted of sexual offenses and have moved back into communities. Most are required to register with authorities and in some instances their names and addresses are made available to the public. But community notification laws can give us a false sense of security. Most sexual abuse, nearly 88 percent, is never reported, let alone brought to trial. (Hanson, R.F., Resnick, H.S., Saunders, B.E., Kilpatrick. D. G., and Best, C. (1999). Factors related to the reporting of childhood sexual assault. Child Abuse and Neglect, 23,559-569) So the police and the courts can't warn us about the people responsible for most of the abuse that is committed across the United States. They don’t know who they are. But most likely, we do. Chances are, those most at risk to abuse our children are people we know in our families and in our community, who have horribly lost control.
Children should not have to prevent sexual abuse by themselves. That’s our job. We can do much more to protect children than teach them to tell us when someone has acted inappropriately. It is our responsibility as adults to learn, to notice, and to say something when we see behaviors towards children and teens that make them vulnerable or are sexually inappropriate. Many calls to our helpline begin with someone telling us, "I may be over reacting but…" and then describe a situation of possible sexual abuse. Adults need to learn what to do when we think another person could harm a child in a sexual way. The Stop It Now! Helpline, this web site, and others will help to give you some of the information you may need to protect a child from sexual abuse.
Who Are These People Who Sexually Abuse Children?
Most often, they are likely to be people we know, and frequently people we care about. It would be easy to protect our children if everyone who posed a risk looked like those mug shots we see on TV of men who have just been arrested for a sexual offense. But they're hardly ever like that.
In as much as 90 percent or more of child sexual abuse cases, the child knows
the person who commits the abuse (Finkelhor, D., H. Hammer, and A.J. Sedlak, Sexually assaulted children: National estimates and characteristics ,in Juvenile Justice Bulletin. In press, Office of Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention: Washington, D.C.) ). It's
hard to face that someone we know - and even love - might be
sexually abusing a child. Look at the checklists in the section
called "Warning Signs"
for what to look for in adults or in the adult/child interactions
that may give you a sense if there is reason for concern or
questions.
Are Men the Only Ones
Who Will Sexually Abuse a Child?
Those who sexually abuse children - the ones
we know about and the ones we don't -- can be anyone in our
lives. They are fathers, mothers, stepparents, grandparents,
and other family members (uncles, aunts, cousins). They're neighbors,
babysitters, religious leaders, teachers, coaches, or anyone
else who has close contact with our children. More cases of
sexual abuse by men are reported into the legal system. As much as half of all child sexual abuse is committed by children under
the age of 18 (Hunter, J.A., Figueredo, A., Malamuth, N.M., & Becker, J.V. (2003). Juvenile sex offenders: Toward the Development of a Typology. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, (2003) Volume 15, No. 1.). Other recent studies have
begun to examine the impact of sexual abuse when the abuser
is a woman or girl.
Can People Who Sexually Offend
Ever Be Cured?
With specialized treatment, a person with a history of having sexually offended who accepts full
accountability for his or her crime can learn to control his
or her abusive behavior. Without treatment, the sexual recidivism
rate for sex offenders is 17 percent. With treatment sexual
recidivism among sex offenders drops to 12 percent (Hanson,
R. K., Gordon, A., Harris, J.R., Marques, J.K., Murphy, W.,
Quinsey, V.L., Seto, M.C. (2002) First Report of the Collaborative
Outcome Data Project on the Effectiveness of Psychological Treatment
for Sex Offenders. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and
Treatment, 14(2), 169-197).
Like many other diseases and dysfunctions we can not expect
a cure, but we can and should demand control of abusive behavior
throughout a lifetime. When people who abuse are firmly supported
and held accountable by their friends and families, they
are more likely to complete their treatment programs and live
productive, abuse-free lives. (Mussack, Steven E. "The
Impact of Family Involvement on Sexual Offender Treatment."
Presented at the 13th Annual Research and Treatment Conference
of the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers, 1994.)
Are All People Who
Sexually Abuse the Same and Do They Pose the Same Risk to Re-Offend?
No. Like Like any other population
there are a wide range of behaviors and a variety of people
who sexually abuse children. With specialized treatment and
full accountability for their crimes, many adults and children
can change and never offend again. However, child sexual abuse
is a crime and must be dealt with first through the child protection
and criminal justice systems. We work to get everyone who wants
to change the best treatment available and help them never to
hurt a child again.
Why Does Someone Sexually
Abuse a Child?
People abuse children for a variety of reasons, including a chance
to increase their sense of power and a sense of pleasure. Those
who abuse can become "hooked" on using children to
achieve sexual arousal. They may seek children to sexually abuse
because they have had a long history of sexual attraction to
children or because they took advantage of an opportunity to
abuse a child in their trust. They may have started sexually
abusing because of their own abuse history or because they never
learned that sexual abuse is wrong and is a crime. The earlier they get help, the better chance they have to control their impulses.
How Can We Keep Our Children
Safe From Sexual Abuse?
We need to teach children about safety. We, as adults,
also need to educate ourselves about sexual abuse, the warning signs of sexually abusing behaviors and the risk
factors that create situations that make children vulnerable. Then we adults need to act. Here
are some things that you and your family can do to prevent the
sexual abuse of a child you know and love.
Adults need to:
- Set and respect family boundaries.
- Speak up when you see behaviors that violate a child's personal boundaries or make children vulnerable.
- Watch for signs of sexually inappropriate behavior in adults, between
adults and children, and in children. (see Warning
Signs)
- In your own life, demonstrate to your children that it is OK to say "no"
when someone you know and care about does something you do
not like.
- Practice talking about difficult topics such as sexual
abuse with other adults.
- Be sure that you are comfortable saying the proper names
of body parts before you teach them to your children.
- Teach children the difference between OK touch and touch
that is not OK. As they get older, teach the more subtle differences
between red light, yellow light, and green light behaviors.
These three levels of behaviors are a clear way to describe
the gray areas which include sexual behaviors that are clearly
inappropriate, but are not legally sexual abuse.
- Teach children that secrets about touching are not OK.
- Set up a family safety plan that is easy to remember.
- List for yourself whom to call for advice, information,
and help.
Report anything you know or suspect is sexual abuse.
For more information on these points, you can call the Stop It Now!® helpline toll-free at 1.888.PREVENT.
What Can I Do If a
Child Has Been Sexually Abused? How Should I Respond? What Should
I Say?
One of the most important things a parent can do is respond
in a calm and matter-of-fact manner. Listen to the words and
feelings of the child and observe his or her body language.
Believe the child - children rarely lie about sexual abuse.
If you don't have enough information about what is going on,
it is a good idea to ask questions and let the child know you
are someone they can safely talk to about this issue. Be sure
you do not ask leading questions. What is most important for
you as someone who cares about the child is to say that no matter
what happened or what they say, you will still love them. Also
take the time to reassure the child that he or she has done
nothing wrong. Let the child know that you will do whatever
you can to keep him or her safe. Many people are tempted to
handle the disclosure on their own. However, there are resources
throughout the country that can help a family through this difficult
situation. (See our Resource
Guide) Furthermore, the sexual abuse of children is against
the law. It is therefore important to seek professional help
and to not do this alone. By taking action you may reduce the
risk of others in your community or family from being sexually
abused.
Is Healing from Sexual
Abuse Possible?
Yes, healing from child sexual abuse is possible. The lives
of children who have been sexually abused will be forever changed,
but we have many wonderful examples of children healing from
the child abuse and living out caring and productive lives.
Some children may be ready to talk about the abuse and deal with it
soon after it happened. Others may need to move more slowly, gradually testing the safety of addressing the issues that arise. Children do best with a combination of love from caregivers and support from a counselor with special training to work with children who have experienced sexual trauma.
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