Childhood sexual abuse fact sheet

Dated but worth saving:

PART 1: HOW MANY CHILDREN ARE THE VICTIMS OF CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE?

• There are many estimates of the number of children who are the victims of sexual abuse.
• One U.S. governmental source counts 78,188 child victims of sexual abuse in 2003. That’s a rate of 1.2 per 1,000 American children.
• The 2001 National Crime Victimization Survey, which only covers youth 12-17, estimates that 1.9 per 1,000 children are raped or sexually assaulted.
• National surveys of adults find that 9-28% of women say they experienced some type of sexual abuse or assault in childhood.

All these estimates and others that are available have limitations and should be used with care.

PART 2:WHO ARE THE VICTIMS OF CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE?

While it is impossible to create a profile of children who will be sexually abused, it is possible to describe characteristics that are more common among victims. Continued

PART 3:WHO ARE THE PERPETRATORS OF CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE?

Just as it is difficult to create a simple profile of who will become victims of sexual abuse, it is equally difficult to create a profile of who will perpetrate sexual crimes against minors. Continued

..Source.. by Emily M. Douglas, PhD, is an extension faculty member within Cooperative Extension and the Department of Family Studies at the University of New Hampshire.

David Finkelhor, PhD, is director of the crimes against Children Research Center, co-director of the Family Research Laboratory and professor in the Department of Sociology, University of New Hampshire.

Any questions about this fact sheet should be directed to Emily Douglas: Emily.Douglas@unh.edu