Although child sexual abuse is reported almost 90,000 times a year, the numbers of unreported abuse is far greater.
Children are afraid to tell anyone what has happened, and the legal procedure for validating an episode is difficult & expensive….
It is estimated that 1 in 3 girls and 1 in 6 boys will have experienced an episode of sexual abuse while younger than 18 years.
The numbers of boys affected may be falsely low because of reporting techniques.
67% of all victims of sexual assault reported to law enforcement agencies were juveniles (under the age of 18).
34% of all victims were under age 12.
1 in 7 victims of sexual assault reported to law enforcement agencies were under age 6.
40% of the offenders who victimized children under age 6 were juveniles (under the age of 18).
Most children are abused by someone they know and trust, although boys are more likely than girls to be abused outside of the family.
A study in three states found 96% of reported rape survivors under age 12 knew the attacker.
4% of the offenders were strangers, 20% were fathers, 16% were relatives and 50% were acquaintances or friends.

Waking up during the night sweating, screaming or shaking with nightmares.
Masturbating excessively.
Showing unusually aggressive behavior toward family members, friends, toys, and pets.
Complaining of pain while urinating or having a bowel movement, or exhibiting symptoms of genital infections such as offensive odors, or symptoms of a sexually transmitted disease.
Having symptoms indicating evidence of physical traumas to the genital or anal area.
Beginning wetting the bed.
Experiencing a loss of appetite or other eating problems, including unexplained gagging.
Showing unusual fear of a certain place or location.
Developing frequent unexplained health problems.
Engaging in persistent sexual play with friends, toys or pets.
Having unexplained periods of panic, which may be flashbacks from the abuse.
Regressing to behaviors too young for the stage of development they already achieved.
Initiating sophisticated sexual behaviors.
Indicating a sudden reluctance to be alone with a certain person.
Engaging in self-mutilations, such as sticking themselves with pins or cutting themselves.
Withdrawing from previously enjoyable activities, like school or school performance change.
Asking an unusual amount of questions about human sexuality.

Definition:

The National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect defines child sexual assault as: “Contacts or interactions between a child and an adult when the child is being used for sexual stimulation of the perpetrator or another person when the perpetrator or another person is in a position of power or control over the victim.”

Sexual abuse is engaging a child in a sexual situation with an older person. It can include actual physical contact, such as fondling or rape, but it also includes making a child watch sexual acts or pornography, using a child in any aspect of the production of pornography, or making a child look at an adult’s genitals.

Examples:

Digital (finger) penetration; Exhibitionism; Fondling a child’s genitals; Having intercourse with a child; Having oral sex with a child; Having sex in front of a child; Having a child touch an older person’s genitals; Incest; Masturbation; Oral-genital contact; Prostitution; Rape; Showing an adult’s genitalia to a child; Showing X-rated books or movies to a child; Sodomy; Using a child in pornographic production of any kind.

Note: Every state has, in its child protection laws, a definition, often more specific than this general definition.

Child sexual abuse has been at the center of unprecedented public attention during the last decade. All fifty states and the District of Columbia have enacted statutes identifying child sexual abuse as criminal behavior. This crime encompasses different types of sexual activity, including voyeurism, sexual dialogue, fondling, touching of the genitals, vaginal, anal, or oral rape and forcing children to participate in pornography or prostitution.

Child Sexual Abusers

Perpetrators of child sexual abuse come from different age groups, genders, races and socio- economic backgrounds. Women sexually abuse children, although not as frequently as men, and juvenile perpetrators comprise as many as one-third of the offenders. One common denominator is that victims frequently know and trust their abusers. Child abusers coerce children by offering attention or gifts, manipulating or threatening their victims, using aggression or employing a combination of these tactics.

 

Child Sexual Abuse Victims

Studies have not found differences in the prevalence of child sexual abuse among different social classes or races. However, parental inadequacy, unavailability, conflict and a poor parent-child relationship are among the characteristics that distinguish children at risk of being sexually abused (Finkelhor, 1994). According to the Third National Incidence Study, girls are sexually abused three times more often than boys, whereas boys are more likely to die or be seriously injured from their abuse (Sedlak & Broadhurst, 1996). Both boys and girls are most vulnerable to abuse between the ages of 7 and 13 (Finkelhor, 1994).

Incest

Incest traditionally describes sexual abuse in which the perpetrator and victim are related by blood. However, incest can also refer to cases where the perpetrator and victim are emotionally connected. Intrafamily perpetrators constitute from one-third to one-half of all perpetrators against girls and only about one-tenth to one-fifth of all perpetrators against boys. There is no question that intrafamily abuse is more likely to go on over a longer period of time and in some of its forms, particularly parent-child abuse, has been shown to have more serious consequences.

Symptoms of Child Sexual Abuse

Many sexually abused children exhibit physical, behavioral and emotional symptoms. Some physical signs are pain or irritation to the genital area, vaginal or penile discharge and difficulty with urination. Victims of known assailants may experience less physical trauma because such injuries might attract suspicion.

Behavioral changes often precede physical symptoms as the first indicators of sexual abuse (American Humane Association Children’s Division, 1993). Behavioral signs include nervous or aggressive behavior toward adults, sexual provocativeness before an appropriate age and the use of alcohol and other drugs. Boys “are more likely than girls to act out in aggressive and antisocial ways as a result of abuse”. Children may say such things as, “My mother’s boyfriend does things to me when she’s not there,” or “I’m afraid to go home tonight.”

 

Consequences

Consequences of child sexual abuse range “from chronic depression to low self-esteem to sexual dysfunction to multiple personalities. A fifth of all victims develop serious long-term psychological problems, according to the American Medical Association. These may include dissociative responses and other signs of post-traumatic-stress syndrome [sic], chronic states of arousal, nightmares, flashbacks, venereal disease and anxiety over sex”.

 

Cycle of Violence

Abuse is a cycle that is repeated over & over unless the cycle is STOPPED. Children who are abused or neglected are more likely to become criminal offenders as adults. Childhood abuse increased the odds of future delinquency and adult criminality overall by 40%. Child sexual abuse victims are also at risk of becoming ensnared in this cycle of violence. Victims of child sexual abuse are 27.7 times more likely to be arrested for prostitution as adults. Some victims may become sexual abusers themselves because they have a difficult time relating to others except on sexual terms.

 

Recovery

Once a child discloses the abuse, an appropriate response is extremely important to the child’s healing process. The adult being confided in should encourage the victim to talk freely, reassure the child that he or she is not to blame and seek medical and psychological assistance.

.

Legal Action

Suspicions of child sexual abuse should be reported to a child protective services agency or law enforcement agency. Local child protection agencies investigate intrafamilial abuse and the police investigate extrafamilial abuse. The law requires professionals who work with children to report suspected neglect or abuse.

In addition to reporting child sexual abuse to the authorities, victims can sue their abusers in civil court to recover monetary damages or win other remedies Many states have extended their criminal and civil statutes of limitation for child sexual abuse cases (National Center for Victims of Crime, 1995). In addition, the delayed discovery rule suspends the statutes of limitation if the victim had repressed all memory of the abuse or was unaware that the abuse caused current problems.

Adult Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse

Survivors of child sexual abuse use coping mechanisms to deal with the horror of the abuse. One such mechanism, protective denial, entails repressing some or all of the abuse. This may cause significant memory gaps that can last months or even years. Victims also use dissociative coping mechanisms, such as becoming numb, to distance themselves from the psychological and physiological responses to the abuse. They may also turn to substance abuse, self-mutilation and eating disorders. In order to recover, adult survivors must adopt positive coping behaviors, forgive themselves, and relinquish their identities as survivors. The healing process can begin when the survivor acknowledges the abuse. When working with adult survivors of child sexual abuse, therapists should consider the survivor’s feeling of security and the personal and professional ramifications of disclosure.

SOURCE: The National Center for Victims of Crime:  http://www.ncvc.org/ncvc/main.aspx?dbName=DocumentViewer&DocumentID=32315

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Identification of Sexual Abuse

Offers the definition of sexual abuse and information to help identify the signs and symptoms.

Child Sexual Abuse
American Humane
Provides information on what to look for if you suspect sexual abuse and what you can do.

Clinical Report: The Evaluation of Sexual Behaviors in Children
Kellogg
Pediatrics, 124(3), 2009
Helps clinicians differentiate normal sexual behaviors from sexual behavior problems by gaining a better understanding of age-appropriate sexual behaviors that may vary with situational and environmental factors.

Evaluations of Child Sexual Abuse: Recognition of Overt and Latent Family Concerns
Leventhal, Murphy, & Asnes
Child Abuse and Neglect International Journal, 34(5), 2010
View Abstract
Describes a clinical approach for medical examiners to address the parents’ and child’s concerns during a child sexual abuse evaluation so the family can focus on important issues, such as ensuring the child’s safety and arranging for counseling.

Handbook of Social Work in Child and Adolescent Sexual Abuse
Hilarski, Wodarski, & Feit (2008)
View Abstract
Explores the latest information on assessment, management, prevention, and policy related to child and adolescent sexual abuse.

Parenting a Child Who Has Been Sexually Abused: A Guide for Foster and Adoptive Parents
Series Title:	Factsheets for Families
Author(s):	Child Welfare Information Gateway
Availability:	View Download (PDF – 240KB) Order (Free – Add to Cart)
Year Published:	2008 – 10 pages
Many factors affect how children react to and recover from sexual abuse. Parents play an important role in their children?s recovery. This factsheet includes information to help foster and adoptive parents of children who have been sexually abused. It includes information about child sexual abuse, tips for establishing guidelines for safety and privacy in the family, and guidance on when and how to seek help, if needed.

Recognizing and Reporting Child Abuse and Child Sexual Abuse
Family Support Line, Merit Systems (2008)
View Abstract
Provides a video training guide for workers on their role as mandated reporters. Although the video focuses on sexual abuse, information is provided on all types of maltreatment.

Sexual Behavior and Children: When Is It a Problem and What To Do About It (PDF – 160 KB)
Overlake Hospital Medical Center, Children’s Response Center (2006)
Includes information to determine what sexual behavior in children is normal and abnormal and ways of correcting sexual misbehavior.

Sexual Development and Sexual Behavior Problems in Children Ages 2-12 (PDF – 251 KB)
National Center on Sexual Behavior of Youth (2004)
Provides basic information and guidelines to distinguish typical sexual behaviors from problematic sexual behaviors.

SOURCE: http://www.childwelfare.gov/can/identifying/sex_abuse.cfm

******PLEASE NOTE******
NOT ALL PEOPLE THAT ARE “LABELED” AS A CHILD SEXUAL PEDOPHILE ARE ACTUALLY CHILD MOLESTERS–ONLY ACCORDING TO CERTAIN STATES, THEIR LAWS & LEGISLATION.

FOR EXAMPLE:

IF A 17-YEAR OLD TEENAGE BOY HAS CONSENTUAL SEX WITH A GIRL UNDER THE AGE OF 16…IT COULD BE CONSIDERED CHILD MOLESTATION ACCORDING TO THE STATE THE INCIDENT OCCURS IN….WHILE IN OTHER STATES, IT IS ACCEPTABLE.
(ie: SUCH AS A ROMEO & JULIET SCENARIO)