Child sexual abuse occurs when a person who is in a position of authority or power initiates sexual contact with a child. Sexual abuse can include: exposure of sexual parts; use of pornography; fondling; oral, vaginal, anal or digital intercourse (use of fingers); forcing a child to watch sexual activities; and rape. When these sexual abuse acts occur in a family or family like situation it is called incest. Incest generally begins with acts such as fondling and can progress to acts such as intercourse. All sexual abuse involves manipulating a victim into silence through the use of verbal threats, physical force or intimidation.
Perpetrators of child sexual abuse can be a parent, stepparent, grandparent, sibling, live-in boyfriend, aunt, uncle, baby-sitter, minister, boy/girl scout leader, teacher, child care provider or any other person who has contact with children. Most perpetrators of child sexual abuse know their victim.
FACTS: SEXUAL ABUSE OF CHILDREN
- 1 in 4 girls will be sexually abused by the age of 18.
- 1 in 6 boys will be sexually abused by the age of 18.
- 41% of all child victims are between the ages of 0-8 years old.
- 85% of perpetrators know their child victim.
- 89% of perpetrators are male.
- Of all male child victims 32% are under the age of 6, of all female child victims 18% are under the age of 6.
- 83% of all sexual abuse against boys is perpetrated by someone outside the family.
- 48% of male child victims are from single parent households, 31% of female child victims are from single parent households.
INDICATORS of SEXUAL ABUSE: Preschool age
When considering the possible sexual abuse of a child it is important to look at both behavioral and physical indicators of sexual abuse.
Under 5% of all sexually abused children show physical indicators of victimization. There are many reasons why this percentage is so low, including the following: preschool children exhibit a very fast rate of physical healing; an adult male penis can penetrate a young child's anus with lubrication, without physical injury to the child; a young female child's hymen is pliable and able to stretch, therefore intercourse does not necessarily mean that the hymen is torn. It is highly unlikely that masturbation, accidents or children inserting objects in their own genitals, will result in injury to the hymen or internal genitalia. The following is a list of physical indicators when they are found in children:
Physical Indicators:
- difficulty urinating or having bowel movements
- blood on child's underpants
- genital or anal bruises, fissures and lacerations
- frequent vaginal infections
- sexually transmitted diseases
When considering whether a young child has been sexually abused, it is important that the following list of behavioral indicators are considered together and not exclusive of each other. One or two of these behaviors found in a preschool child does not necessarily mean that the child has been sexually abused. These behaviors can also be symptoms of other stressors in a child's life such as: divorce between parents; reaction to a sudden separation from a primary caretaker; or transition difficulties such as beginning school.
Behavioral Indicators:
- acting out or passive withdrawal
- persistent and inappropriate sexual play with toys, animals, or peers
- detailed and unexplained sexual knowledge beyond age expectations
- seductive, precocious sexual behavior and gender confusion
- aggressive sexual behavior, especially in boy victims
- excessive, persistent, public masturbation
- disturbances in eating patterns, i.e. binge eating, loss of appetite, gagging, hoarding food
- disturbances in toileting patterns, i.e. wetting/soiling themselves
- disturbances in sleeping patterns, i.e. nightmares, night terrors, fear of the dark, fear of being alone in bedroom, wanting to sleep with a parent
- extraordinary fear of the same sex adults, baby-sitters, etc.
- unexplained and unusually intensive guardedness, mistrust, clinginess and watchfulness
- verbal statements by the child