Child sexual assault as defined by National Center for Victims of Crime is the following:
“Sexual assault takes many forms including attacks such as rape or attempted rape, as well as any unwanted sexual contact or threats. Usually a sexual assault occurs when someone touches any part of another person’s body in a sexual way, even through clothes, without that person’s consent.”2
These two terms most generally differ in that child sexual abuse encompasses a wider variety of acts that can include assault, the showing of pornography to a child, exposing oneself to a child, and voyeurism.
Interpreting the Data
Estimating how many children are being or have ever been sexually abused is problematic. Some of the challenges that are faced include: inconsistent state definitions of child sexual abuse, under and non-reporting, a variety of report receiving/data collecting agencies and how the data is reported.
1.Inconsistent State Definitions of Child Sexual Abuse
There is no single definition of child sexual abuse used currently. States vary in what age is considered a “child” as well as who can legally be held responsible for child sexual abuse.
2.Under and non-reporting
Many cases of child sexual abuse are not reported right away and some are never reported. Therefore, the actual number of children who are or have ever been sexually abused is currently unknown.
3.Report receiving agencies
Depending upon how a state defines child sexual abuse, usually reports will be reported to either local law enforcement or Child Protective Services (CPS). However, many instances of sexual abuse never reach these agencies and are dealt with internally by the organizations and/or individuals involved.
4.Data collecting agencies
There are a number of agencies that collect data on child sexual abuse. The National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS), the data collecting system of the National Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect (NDACAN), gathers information from participating CPS agencies. However, they do not collect data from local law enforcement. This means that current data collecting systems only capture a portion of the total incidents of CSA.
5.How the data is reported
Understanding the scope of child sexual abuse means taking into account both prevalence and incidence rates.
The number of child sexual abuse cases will be reported in one of two ways: incidence or prevalence. “Incidence rates are based on how many children were abused in a single year. Prevalence rates are based on a lifetime or a full childhood, such as what percentage of all children were ever abused.”3
Data from the CDC in 2006 indicates that 1 in 4 women and 1 in 6 men were sexually abused before the age of 18.4
The data regarding child sexual abuse can be confusing. Consequently, this can lead to inconsistent data reports as shown by the following statistics.
Data: CDC Study, 2006
•According to the publication “Child Maltreatment” published by NCANDS, data gathered from participating Child Protective Services agencies in 2011 indicates that of all cases received and screened in, 9.1% were sexual abuse cases.5
•In 2006, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) conducted an adult retrospective study that estimated that 1 in 4 women (25%) and 1 in 6 men (17%) were sexually abused before the age of 18.6
•Prevalence rates used by some professionals in the field range from 8% to 20%.7
•One in 5 girls (20%) and 1 in 20 (5%) boys are the victim of child sexual abuse.8
•The 2003 National Institute of Justice report stated that 3 out of 4 victims (75%) of child sexual abuse have been sexually victimized by someone they knew well.9
•Bureau of Justice Statistics report that 1.6% of children between the ages of 12-17 are the victims of rape/sexual assault.10
•A 2001 National Child Victimization Survey estimates that 1.9 per 1,000 children (0.19%) aged 12-17 are raped/sexually assaulted.11
The severity of the incidence and prevalence of an issue often determines how much public attention and help it will receive. Before something can be fixed, the scope of the problem must be known.
I. The Scope of the Problem
With reported rates of child sexual abuse reaching anywhere from 8% to 20% of the child population under 18, the true extensiveness of the problem is unknown. When assessing rates of child sexual abuse, a number of considerations must be understood and will be discussed throughout the first portion of this publication. Issues that may arise and pose a threat to the accuracy of child sexual abuse rates include distinguishing between intra- and extra-familial sexual abuse, delays in disclosure/reporting and under-reporting, and the limited prosecution of child sexual abuse cases.
1.Intra- and Extra-Familial Sexual Abuse
The reality of child sexual abuse is that most offenders are known to their victims, including relatives and family members. According to the Bureau of Statistics, it is estimated that approximately 90% of juvenile sexual abuse victims know their perpetrator in some way. However, the first gap in research and statistics of child sexual abuse is the challenge of categorizing offenders of child sexual abuse. Part of this can be attributed to the inherent complexity and nature of human relationships. Individuals can have family members, relatives, biological and non-biological parents/relatives, close friends, friends, acquaintances, friends of the family, trusted known persons, known persons, and strangers. It is no small feat to attempt to classify each case of sexual abuse into one of these categories, and therefore the categories are often condensed for purposes of simplicity. Some studies condense the categories of offenders to “known” versus “stranger”, while others attempt to elaborate and separate offenders into categories of relative/family member, acquaintance, and stranger.
The lack of uniformity about how to characterize offenders leads to poor estimates of the perpetrator data for child sexual abuse. Within the data analysis, how to distinguish a trusted coach who is a “friend of the family” from a worker at a local youth organization, who does not share a similar relationship to the family, remains an enigma. Because most child sexual abuse occurs within the family, traditional research may place less importance on the other categories of victim/offender relationships. This may be why the data for intra-familial child sexual abuse is more thorough than that for extra-familial child sexual abuse.
However, attention has shifted in recent years as a result of numerous child sexual abuse scandals reported by the press. The media has highlighted the need to be aware of individuals who are not immediately related to the child or are acquaintances of the family, but who may be working with the child in another capacity such as a coach, teacher, day care worker, or youth volunteer.
This publication will highlight some youth-serving organizations where the extra-familial relationships can be found. Substantial efforts are being made within these organizations to combat CSA. The organizations discussed include the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), YMCA, the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, and the Boys and Girls Club of America.
2.Disclosure of the Abuse
In addition to facing categorization difficulties, data regarding child sexual abuse is also skewed because of delayed disclosure or non-disclosure. Consequently, the exact number of children who are sexually abused annually is difficult to estimate. Yet,