What is sexual abuse?

  
   
A child (anyone under 16) is sexually abused when another person, who is sexually mature, involves the child in any activity, which the other person expects to lead to sexual arousal. This might involve intercourse, touching, exposure of the genital organs, showing pornographic material or talking about sexual things in an erotic way. [Ref 1]

Incidence

Reported statistics on the incidence of female childhood abuse vary from 1 in 4 to 1 in 8. The relationship of victim and abuser falls in the following categories; family member or cohabiter 45%, acquaintance 37.9% and stranger 17%. [Ref 2]

What are the effects?

There are established and accepted long-term effects of childhood sexual abuse.

[Ref 3] About half the victims of long-term sexual abuse in childhood, (up to 12.5% of all women) will have some mental health problems in adulthood, these may include all or some of the following:

- Eating disorders

- Substance abuse
67-90% of women with addiction problems (alcohol or drugs) are survivors of childhood sexual abuse. [Ref 4]

- Self-mutilation

- Depression
50% of female psychiatric inpatients were sexually abused as children. Where the abuse involved penetration there are 16 times as many psychiatric admissions compared to the general population. [Ref 5]

- Suicide
Adults who experienced childhood sexual abuse are 12 times more likely to attempt suicide than those who did not. [Ref 6]

- Sexual issues

- Homosexuality

- Re-victimisation

- Personality disorders

- Anxiety, fear and anger
50 – 80% of women who are raped develop Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. This compares to 5 - 8% of combat veterans. [Ref 7]


References
[ Ref 1,2,3] Child sexual abuse: What practitioners can learn from research regarding the long-term effects by Mary Berry MA
[Ref 4] Addiction Counselling World: May/June 1998 pp14-16 – Jane Wilson (DABS Resources)
[Ref 5] “Child Abuse and Severity of Disturbance Among Adult Psychiatric Inpatients”: Child Abuse and Neglect. 1998 Vol22 No5 pp359-363 – J Read (DABS Resources)
[Ref 6] “Adverse Childhood Experience”, American Journal of Preventative Medicine, 1998 14 pp245-258 Vincent Fellitti & Robert Anda (DABS Resources)
[Ref 7] Paper given at the San Diego Conference Responding to Maltreatment of Children, January 30th 1998 – Frank Putnam MD. (DABS Resources)		  
 
 
Address PO Box 3636 Stratford-Upon-Avon CV37 8WF Tel/fax 01789 490715 Email info@womenforchange.org.uk
Women For Change is a registered charity No 1100536