CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE
INTRODUCTION
Child sexual abuse is the sexual exploitation or victimization of a child by an adult,
adolescent, or older child. The difference in age and sexual knowledge between a child
and an older person makes informed consent to sexual activity impossible.
Sexual abuse includes a range of behaviors, including vaginal, anal, or oral penetration,
fondling, exhibitionism, prostitution, and photographing a child for pornography. The
sexual activity does not necessarily involve force. Children are often bribed or verbally
coerced into sexual acts.
Child protective service and law enforcement statistics do not present the full extent of
child sexual abuse since children often do not tell anyone of sexual abuse.
Incest is sexual relations between family members. Relatives may include parents,
stepparents, siblings, uncles, grandparents and other blood relations as defined by law.
Incest constitutes abuse when the child is unable to give informed consent to sexual
activity due to the authority of the relative, the child's dependency and lack of power,
and/or the difference in ages between the child and the relative.
STATISTICS
One in three girls and one in six boys are sexually abused before the age of 18. 1
Over a third of all sexual assaults involved a victim who was under the age of 12. 2
An estimated 906,000 children were victims of maltreatment in the United States in
2003. 10% of the children were found to be victims of sexual abuse. 3
Of the 22.3 million adolescents in the United States today, 1.8 million have been victims
of serious sexual assault.4
1
Russell, Diana E.H. 1988. The Incidence and Prevalence of Intrafamilial and Extrafamilial Sexual Abuse of Female
Children. In Handbook on Sexual Abuse of Children, ed., Lenore E.A. Walker. Springer Publishing Co.
2 Bureau of Justice Statistics. U.S. Department of Justice. 2000. Sexual Assault of Young Children as Reported to
Law Enforcement: Victim, Incident, and Offender Characteristics,.
3 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Children’s Bureau. Child Maltreatment 1997: Reports from the
States to the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System. Washington, D.C.: 1999.
4 Kilpatrick, Dean, and Benjamin Saunders. The Prevalence and Consequences of Child Victimization: Summary of
a Research Study by Dean Kilpatrick, Ph.D. and Benjamin Saunders, Ph.D. 1997. U.S. Department of Justice.
National Institute of Justice. Washington, D.C.
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Between 300,000 and 400,000 U.S. children are victims of the sex trade each year,
from juvenile pornography and street prostitution to selling sex at school. 5
A survey of high school adolescents showed that 17% of girls were physically abused
and 12% were sexually abused, while 12% of boys were physically abused and 5%
were sexually abused.6
Approximately 1 in 5 female students reported being physically and/or sexually abused
by a dating partner.7
For 60% of “sexually active” girls under 14, their only sexual experience has been a
rape.8
The Women’s Safety Project survey reported the following results regarding child
abuse: 9




17% of women reported at least one unwanted sexual contact (narrowly
defined) by a relative before the age of 16. This suggests that approximately
1 in 6 girls have been sexually abused by a relative in childhood.
34% of women reported at least one unwanted sexual contact by a
nonrelative before age 16, suggesting that 1 in 3 girls is sexually abused by a
nonrelative in childhood.
In total, 42% of women reported at least one experience of incestuous and/or
extrafamilial sexual abuse before age 16. 27% were sexually abused before
age 8.
If a broader definition is used, including unwanted kisses, nongenital sexual
touching, or noncontact experiences such as having someone masturbate in
front of them, 53.8% of women reported an unwanted sexual experience
before age 16.
AGE
More than half (54 percent) of female victims and nearly three quarters (71 percent) of
male victims were first raped before their 18th birthdays.10
61% of rape victims were sexually assaulted before the age of 18. 11
5“Estes,
Richard. 2003. The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in the U.S, Canada, & Mexico. Center for
the Study of Youth Policy. University of Pennsylvania.
6 The Commonwealth Fund. 1999. mproving the Health of Adolescent Girls: Policy Report of the Commonwealth
Fund Commission on Women’s Health. New York, NY..
7 Dating Violence Against Adolescent Girls and Associated Substance Use, Unhealthy Weight Control, Sexual Risk
Behavior, Pregnancy, and Suicidality. 286(5) Journal of the American Medical Association (August 1, 2001).
8 Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Coalition of North Carolina. 1994. Adult Males + Teen Girls = Teen Pregnancies.
9 Randall, Melanie, and Lori Haskell. Sexual Violence in Women’s Lives: Findings from the Women’s Safety Project,
A Community Based Survey. Violence Against Women 1 (1995): 6 -31.
10 National Institute of Justice. 2006. Extent, Nature, and Consequences of Rape Victimization: Findings From the
National Violence Against Women Survey.
11 American Academy of Pediatrics. Committee on Adolescence. Sexual Assault and the Adolescent. 5 Pediatrics.
(1994): 761-765.
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29% of all forcible rapes occurred when the victims were under 11 years old. 12
In a 1991 survey conducted by the National Victim Center, 29% of all forcible rapes
occurred when the victims were under 11 years old. Another 32% occurred when the
victims were between 11 and 17.13
Nearly 30% of child sexual assault victims identified by child protective services
agencies in 1995 were between 4 and 7 years of age. 14
In a national random survey, 27% of women and 16% of men disclosed that they had
been sexually abused as children. The median age for girls was 9.6 years and for boys
was 9.9 years.15
40% of men incarcerated for rape said their victims were children; 80% said their
victims were under age 18.16
In a study of 4,295 convicted child sex abusers, 60% of the victims were age 13 or
younger.17
DISABILITIES
Almost half of adult women with disabilities report that they were sexually abused as
children, compared with 34% of non-disabled women.18
90% of girls and women referred to the Seattle Rape Relief Disabilities Project had
been abused by relatives or individuals they knew.19
12
Kilpatrick D.G., C.N. Edmunds, and A. Seymour. 1992. Rape in America: A Report to the Nation. Arlington, VA:
National Victim Center.
13 National Victims Center & Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center, 1992.
14 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Children’s Bureau. Child Maltreatment 1997: Reports from the
States to the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System. Washington, D.C.: 1999.
15 Finkelhor, David, et al. Sexual Abuse in a National Survey of Adult Men and Women: Prevalence, Characteristics,
and Risk Factors. Child Abuse and Neglect 14 (1990): 19-28.
16 Greenfield, Lawrence A. 1997. Sex Offenses and Offenders: An Analysis of Data on Rape and Sexual Assault.
U.S. Department of Justice. Bureau of Justice Statistics. Washington, D.C.
17
Bureau of Justice Statistics. U.S. Department of Justice. 2003. Recidivism of Sex Offenders Released from Prison
in 1994.
18 Webb, Tracy. Abuse of the Disabled: Violence against Women with Disabilities. Working Against Violence in Our
Community.
19 Paige, Carolyn S. 1991. Project Action Curriculum: Sexual Assault Awareness for People with Disabilities. Seattle
Rape Relief Disabilities Project.
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A study of 482 children with documented maltreatment evaluated at the Center for
Abused Handicapped Children at Boys Town Research Hospital in Omaha, NE, reveals
that more than half (53.4%) of the deaf children report being sexually abused. 20
In a study of 150 interviewed deaf youth at a residential school, 75 children reported
being sexually abused, 19 reported being victims of incest, and 3 reported both physical
and sexual abuse.21
GENDER
Of child sexual abuse victims identified by child protective services agencies in 1995,
75% were girls and 25% were boys.22
Girls are sexually abused three times more often than boys, according to the Third
National Incidence Study. Boys are more likely to be seriously injured or die as a result
of their abuse.23
Juvenile victims of sexual assault were more likely to be male (18%) than were adult
victims (4%). Nearly a quarter (27%) of the victims under age 12 were male. 24
One in six boys may be sexually abused at least once before age 18, with the median
age of the first abusive episode being 9.9. 20% are abused by women and 80% by
men.25
A nationwide study of nearly 3,000 male college students found that 7.3% reported
having an abusive sexual experience before the age of 14. 26
A survey of men revealed that 14% had been forced or coerced into sexual activity
before they were 14 years old. The median age of their perpetrator was 27 years of
age.27
Boys who have been sexually abused by relatives are 15 times more likely to be
sexually abused as are other boys.28
20
Sullivan, P.M., M. Vernon, and J. Scanlan, J. Sexual Abuse of Deaf Youth. 132 American Annals of the Deaf
(1987): 256-262.
21 Sullivan, P.M., M. Vernon, and J. Scanlan, J. Sexual Abuse of Deaf Youth. 132 American Annals of the Deaf
(1987): 256-262.
22 Finkelhor, David, et al. Sexual Abuse in a National Survey of Adult Men and Women: Prevalence, Characteristics,
and Risk Factors. Child Abuse and Neglect 14 (1990): 19-28.
23 Sedlak, Andrea, and Diane Broadhurst. 1996. Executive Summary of the Third National Incidence Study of Child
Abuse and Neglect. National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect. U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services.
24 Bureau of Justice Statistics. U.S. Department of Justice. 2000. Sexual Assault of Young Children as Reported to
Law Enforcement: Victim, Incident, and Offender Characteristics.
25 Roesler, T.A., and T.W. Wind. Telling the Secret: Adult Women Describe Their Disclosures of Incest. Journal of
Interpersonal Violence (1994): 327-338.
26 Risin, Leslie I., and Mary P. Koss The Sexual Abuse of Boys: Childhood Victimizations Reported by a National
Sample, cited in Rape and Sexual Assault II., Ann W. Burgess, ed. 1988. New York: Garland Publishing.
27 Ratner, P.A., et al. Non Consensual Sex Experienced by Men Who Have Sex with Other Men: Prevalence and
Association with Mental Health. 49 Patient Education and Counseling. (2003): 67-74.
28 Holmes, W. C., M.D., MSCE & Slap, G.B., M.S., M.S. Sexual Abuse of Boys. 280(1) Journal of the American
Medical Association (1998): 1855-1862, citing numerous studies.
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RACE
In a 1994 survey, 44.8% of African-American women, 38% of white women, 25.6% of
Latina women and 21.1% of Asian-American women had histories of child sexual
abuse.29
A study by Wyatt and Russell found that African-American victims of child sexual abuse
are often more severely abused, with more use of force, than Caucasian children. The
African-American girls also are more often abused by relatives other than their fathers;
often the offender is an uncle. African-American girls are sexually abused at about the
same rate as Caucasian girls.30
OFFENDERS
CHARACTERISTICS
99% of persons incarcerated for sexual assault or rape are men. About 35% were
sexually assaulted or abused as children.31
93% of child sexual abuse offenders are men.32
Most men who abuse boys define their sexual orientation as heterosexual.33
In a study of sexually abused girls, only 6.2% were abused by women. 34
1/3 of convicted sex offenders were sexually abused as children. 35
Adults were the offenders in 60% of the sexual assaults of youth under age 12.36
The typical child sex offender abuses an average of 117 children, most of whom do not
report the abuse.37
29
Urquiza, Anthony J., and Beth Goodlin-Jones, Beth L. Child Sexual Abuse and Adult Revictimization with Women
of Color. 9(3) Violence and Victims (1994): 223-232.
30 Russell, Diana E.H. 1988. The Incidence and Prevalence of Intrafamilial and Extrafamilial Sexual Abuse of Female
Children. In Handbook on Sexual Abuse of Children, ed., Lenore E.A. Walker. Springer Publishing Co.
31 Bureau of Justice Statistics. 1997, pp. 21-23.
32 Crewdson, John. 1988. By Silence Betrayed. Little, Brown and Co.
33 Urquiza, Anthony J., and Lisa Marie Keating. 1990. The Prevalence of Sexual Victimization of Males. In 1 The
Sexually Abused Male: Prevalence, Impact, and Treatment., ed. Mic Hunter. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books.
34
Roesler, T.A., and T.W. Wind. Telling the Secret: Adult Women Describe Their Disclosures of Incest. Journal of
Interpersonal Violence (1994): 327-338.
35 Groth, Nicholas A. 1979. Men Who Rape: The Psychology of the Offender. New York: Plenum Press.
36 Bureau of Justice Statistics. U.S. Department of Justice. 2000. Sexual Assault of Young Children as Reported to
Law Enforcement: Victim, Incident, and Offender Characteristics.
37 National Institute of Mental Health. 1998.
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OFFENDER’S RELATIONSHIP TO VICTIM
Strangers were the offenders in just 3% of sexual assaults against victims under age 6
and 5% of the sexual assault victimizations of youth ages 6 through 11.38
Of sexually abused girls, 53% are abused by their biological fathers; 15% by
stepfathers, and 8.8% by uncles.39
11% of rape victims are raped by their fathers or stepfathers; another 16% are raped by
other relatives.40
70% of incarcerated sexual abusers knew their victims. 40% said their victim was a
child; 80% reported that the victim was under age 18. 41
31% of women surveyed were sexually abused by a non-relative; of these, 20% were
abused before age 14. 43% of the non-family abusers were boyfriends, 42% were
acquaintances, and 11% were strangers.42
31% of women surveyed were sexually abused by someone outside the family; of
these, 20% were abused before the age of 14.43
Offenders outside the family are often acquaintances of the victim. In one survey, 11%
were strangers, 42% were casual acquaintances, and 43% were boyfriends. 44
A survey of 4,340 adults examining sexual attitudes and experiences reported that 4.1
percent of respondents had a physical sexual experience with a teacher.45
38
Bureau of Justice Statistics. U.S. Department of Justice. 2000. Sexual Assault of Young Children as Reported to
Law Enforcement: Victim, Incident, and Offender Characteristics.
39 Roesler, T.A., and T.W. Wind. Telling the Secret: Adult Women Describe Their Disclosures of Incest. Journal of
Interpersonal Violence (1994): 327-338.
40 Kilpatrick D.G., C.N. Edmunds, and A. Seymour. 1992. Rape in America: A Report to the Nation. Arlington, VA:
National Victim Center.
41 Bureau of Justice Statistics, p. 24, 1997.
42
Russell, Diana E.H. 1988. The Incidence and Prevalence of Intrafamilial and Extrafamilial Sexual Abuse of Female
Children. In Handbook on Sexual Abuse of Children, ed., Lenore E.A. Walker. Springer Publishing Co.
43 Ibid.
44 Ibid.
45 Policy and Program Studies Service. U.S. Department of Education. 2004. Educator Sexual Misconduct: A
Synthesis of Existing Literature.
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SPECIAL ISSUES
INTERNET
Child pornography reports to CyberTipline, a congressionally mandated mechanism for
monitoring child sexual exploitation, jumped 39 percent in 2004. 46
Year
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
Child Pornography Tips
3,267
7,736
16,724
21,611
37,647
76,178
106,119
Based on interviews with a nationally representative sample of 1,501 youth ages 10 to
17 who use the Internet regularly during a one-year timeframe:47

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
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
Approximately one in five received a sexual solicitation or approach over
the Internet.
One in four had an unwanted exposure to pictures of naked people or
people having sex.
One in seventeen was threatened or harassed.
Fewer than 10% of sexual solicitations and only 3% of unwanted
exposure episodes were reported to authorities such as a lawenforcement agency.
About one quarter of the youth who encountered a sexual solicitation or
approach told a parent. Almost 40% of those reporting an unwanted
exposure to sexual material told a parent.
Law enforcement at all levels made an estimated 2,577 arrests during the 12 months
starting July 1, 2000, for Internet sex crimes against minors.48
More than 20,000 images of child pornography are posted on the Internet every week.49
PREGNANCY
The rate of pregnancy among children and adolescents who have been sexually
abused is significantly higher than that of non-victims: 50
46
PR Newswire. National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. 2005.
Ix – Online Victimization: A Report on the Nation’s Youth. 2005. PEW Internet Study.
48 National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. 2003.
49 ProtectKids.com. National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (Oct. 8, 2003).
50 Boyer, Debra, and David Fine. Sexual Abuse as a Factor in Adolescent Pregnancy and Child Maltreatment. 24
Family Planning Perspectives (Jan. 1992).
47
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66% of pregnant adolescents reported being sexually abused at some point
in their lives.
62% were abused prior to their pregnancies.
30% had been raped.
44% had been victims of attempted rape.
More than 50% were victimized by family members, most often stepfathers.
Between 11% and 20% of the girls were pregnant as a direct result of rape.
More than 3/4 of the sexual assaults against the girls involved force or threat
of force, such as rape at knifepoint.
At least 3/5 of the girls had been severely physically abused as well.
2/3 of births to teenage girls are fathered by men age 20 or older.51
60% of girls who had sex before age 15 were coerced by males averaging 6 years their
senior.52
PROSTITUTION
Between 300,000 and 400,000 American children and youth are victimized by sexual
exploitation each year.53
66% of all prostitutes were sexually abused as children. Of those, 2/3 were abused by
fathers, stepfathers, or foster fathers and 10% were abused by strangers. 54
The odds of a child sexual abuse victim being arrested for prostitution are 27.7 times
higher than for a non-victim.55
Men and women who have been raped or forced to have sex in childhood or
adolescence are four times more likely to have worked in prostitution compared with
people who have not been abused.56
51
DeVita, Carol J. The United States at Mid-Decade. 50(4) Population Bulletin. Population Bureau, Inc. Washington,
D.C. (March 1996).
52 The Alan Guttmacher Institute. 1994. Sex and American Teenagers.
53 Estes, Richard. 2003. The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in the U.S, Canada, & Mexico. Center for
the Study of Youth Policy. University of Pennsylvania.
54 Silbert, M. Compounding Factors in the Rape of Street Prostitutes, cited in Wolbert-Burgess, A. Rape and Sexual
Assault II. Garland Publishing, Inc., New York, 1988, p. 77.
55 Widom, C. Victims of Childhood Sexual Abuse: Later Criminal Consequences. 1995. U.S. Department of Justice.
National Institute of Justice. Washington, D.C.
56 Population Reports: Ending Violence Against Women. 2000.
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RITUAL SEXUAL ABUSE
Ritual abuse consists of the sadistic acts that accompany sexual abuse; and/or sexual
abuse that occurs in conjunction with group acts of worship; and/or acts committed as a
means of intimidating children to make them compliant victims and to keep their
testimony from being believed.
David Finkelhor has defined three types of ritual abuse. These are: 57



Cult-based ritual abuse: This type of sexual abuse is a means of inducing a
mystical or religious experience in the abuser, and involves an elaborate belief
system or ideology.
Pseudo-ritual abuse: Children are exploited through psychological, sadistic
intimidation to inhibit disclosure of the abuse. Costumes and animal sacrifices
are two of the methods used to frighten children into submission. Pornography is
usually involved.
Psychopathological ritualism: The abuser is an obsessive, sadistic individual,
rather than a group concerned with religious or other experience.
Ritual aspects of sexual abuse may include ceremonies, torture of children or animals,
frightening costumes, group sex, and/or animal sacrifice. Some of the most grotesque
acts witnessed by a child may be simulations designed to intimidate the child into
submission and discredit his or her testimony.
Most people's initial reaction to accounts of ritual abuse is disbelief. It may be difficult to
accept reports of child victims and adult survivors who say they witnessed human
sacrifices or were sexually tortured or put in underground coffins. Nonetheless,
considering a child's literal interpretation of events and lack of broad factual knowledge,
there is an amazing consistency to the stories of ritually abused children. Children
across the country who have never met each other cite instances of sexual abuse,
animal torture, chants, threats to parents and/or pets, and consumption of human
waste, blood and body fluids.
Some ritual abuse experts maintain that body parts and fluids are consumed during
rituals, with no evidence remaining. Other experts believe sacrifice rituals are usually
staged, using dolls or stuffed animals as a form of psychological manipulation. Children
also may be given drugs that alter their perceptions.
PREVALENCE
It is impossible to estimate the prevalence of ritual sexual abuse because many child
victims and adult survivors do not reveal that they were abused. Victims fear they will
not be believed, expect to be labeled crazy, and fear retaliation by the offender(s).
57
Finkelhor, David, and Linda M. Williams. 1988. Nursery Crimes. Sage Publications.
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In one group of 500 child sexual abuse victims, 55 were victims of ritual sexual
abuse: 58



11 were victims of “pseudo-ritual” abuse, involving threats, group sex, drugs, and
consumption of human waste.
10 were “private” rituals in which the behavior was committed by one perpetrator
and was ritualized for personal, sadistic reasons.
32 were organized, group rituals. Out of these 32, four were intergenerational.
Eight involved children taken into group ritual abuse situations by their parents,
and 20 children were victims of extrafamilial ritual abuse that occurred outside of
the home. Nineteen of these extrafamilial cases occurred in day care centers,
and one in a Boy Scout troop.
13% of child sexual abuse cases in day care included ritual aspects. 59
LAW IN ILLINOIS
In 1992, the Illinois Ritual Abuse of Children Task Force assisted in the passage of
legislation that makes ritual abuse a specific crime. It is now a felony to involve a child
in actual or simulated ritually abusive acts. The law enhances penalties for child sexual
abuse with ritually abusive aspects.
OFFENDERS WHO COMMIT RITUAL ABUSE
Ritual abuse is often initiated by family members who abuse their own children. These
abusers may have been abused as children themselves. 60
One study found that 64% of ritual abuse perpetrators are women. In standard child
sexual abuse cases, about 75% of the perpetrators are men.
The social background of the abusers is often upper-middle-class or middle-class, and
includes people from all professions.61
58
National Resource Center on Child Sexual Abuse. 1989. Think Tank Report: Investigation of Ritualistic Abuse
Allegations.
59 Finkelhor, David, and Linda M. Williams. 1988. Nursery Crimes. Sage Publications.
60 Cook, Karen. 1991. Understanding Ritual Abuse. University of Colorado at Boulder.
61 Ibid.
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IMPACT ON THE VICTIM
INITIAL EFFECTS
Psychological reactions that children exhibit following sexual abuse include fear, anger,
hostility, guilt and shame, low self-esteem, anxiety, early overt sexual behavior, and
behavioral disturbances (such as running away and truancy).62
Sexually abused children are often further exploited by others in emotionally and
physically dangerous ways. In one study, 10% of sexually abused adolescents
exchanged sex for money; 9% exchanged sex for shelter, 7% exchanged sex for drugs
or alcohol.63
LONG-TERM EFFECTS
Psychological effects of child sexual abuse often last into adulthood. Adult survivors of
child sexual abuse may exhibit depression, anxiety, sleep disorders, dissociation, and
low self- esteem.64
40% of child sexual abuse victims seek mental health treatment after reaching
adulthood.65
Survivors of incest may have particularly severe problems, especially if the offender
was a father or stepfather.66
53% of adult survivors of incest said the abuse caused “some” or “great” long-term
psychological effects.67
The duration of sexual abuse affects the severity of psychological trauma. The following
percentages of survivors called their abuse “extremely traumatic”: 73% whose abuse
lasted more than 5 years, 62% whose abuse lasted 1 week to 5 years, and 46% who
experienced one incident of abuse.68
11% of pregnant adolescents reported becoming pregnant as a result of sexual assault,
mostly incest.69
62
Russell, Diana E.H. 1988. The Incidence and Prevalence of Intrafamilial and Extrafamilial Sexual Abuse of Female
Children. In Handbook on Sexual Abuse of Children, ed., Lenore E.A. Walker. Springer Publishing Co.
63 Boyer, Debra, and David Fine. Sexual Abuse as a Factor in Adolescent Pregnancy and Child Maltreatment. 24
Family Planning Perspectives (Jan. 1992).
64 Russell, 1988.
65 Finkelhor, David, et al. Sexual Abuse in a National Survey of Adult Men and Women: Prevalence, Characteristics,
and Risk Factors. Child Abuse and Neglect 14 (1990): 19-28.
66 Finkelhor, David, et al. Sexual Abuse in a National Survey of Adult Men and Women: Prevalence, Characteristics,
and Risk Factors. Child Abuse and Neglect 14 (1990): 19-28.
67 Russell, Diana E.H. 1988. The Incidence and Prevalence of Intrafamilial and Extrafamilial Sexual Abuse of Female
Children. In Handbook on Sexual Abuse of Children, ed., Lenore E.A. Walker. Springer Publishing Co.
68 Ibid.
69 Boyer, Debra, and David Fine. Sexual Abuse as a Factor in Adolescent Pregnancy and Child Maltreatment. 24
Family Planning Perspectives (Jan. 1992).
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Victims suffer more long-term trauma when they are sexually abused by adults, rather
than by adolescents.70
REVICTIMIZATION
55.4% of women who reported childhood sexual abuse also reported being
subsequently raped. Revictimization occurred for only 20.2% of rape victims who did
not report being sexually abused as children. Child sexual assault victims were 4.7
times more likely to be subsequently raped. Women who were both physically and
sexually abused as children reported the highest rates of subsequent rapes. 71
18% of women who reported being raped before age 18 said they were also raped after
age 18, compared with 9% of women who did not report childhood rape. 72
REPORTING
REPORTING SEXUAL ABUSE
Many children who are sexually abused do not tell anyone of the abuse. Often, the
crime is never reported to the police. In one survey, 42% of all respondents who were
sexually abused told someone of the abuse within a year; 21% told someone at some
point after a year had passed, 36% never told anyone. Only 3% reported the crime to
police.73
In a survey conducted by Diana Russell, only 2% of incest cases and 6% of
extrafamilial child sexual abuse cases were reported to the police. 74
70
Finkelhor, 1990.
Merrill, L.L., Newell, et al. 1997. Childhood Abuse and Sexual Revictimization in a Female Navy Recruit Sample.
Naval Health Research Center. Pub. 97-5.
72 Tjaden, Patricia, and Nancy Thoennes. Prevalence, Incidence and Consequences of Violence Against Women:
Findings from the National Violence Against Women Survey. U.S. Department of Justice. National Institute of
Justice. Washington, D.C. (Nov. 1998).
73 Crewdson, John. 1988. By Silence Betrayed. Little, Brown and Co.
74 Russell, Diana E.H. 1988. The Incidence and Prevalence of Intrafamilial and Extrafamilial Sexual Abuse of Female
Children. In Handbook on Sexual Abuse of Children, ed., Lenore E.A. Walker. Springer Publishing Co.
71
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