Stats

Consequences to children and to our society begin immediately. It affects our society in innumerable ways:

70-80% of sexual abuse survivors report excessive drug and alcohol use (2).
Women who report childhood rape are 3 times more likely to become pregnant before age 18 (2).
Young girls who are sexually abused are more likely to develop eating disorders as adolescents (15).

And can continue throughout the life of the survivor. So the impact on our society for just one survivor is multiple decades. Try to imagine the impact with 40 million survivors:

40% of all survivors suffer aftereffects enough to require therapy in adulthood (3).
46 % of women in prison state that they were sexually abused as children (5).
95 % of teenage prostitutes have been sexually abused (1).
76 % of serial rapists report they were sexually abused as children (4).

Most perpetrators don't molest only one child if they are not reported and stopped:

70% of child sex offenders had between 1 and 9 victims; 23 % had 10 to 40 victims (6).
An average serial child molester has between 360-380 victims in his lifetime (6).

Haven't we as a society paid enough? It is up to YOU to STOP CHILD ABUSE! Remember: CHILDREN ARE NEVER RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR SEXUAL ABUSE. ADULTS ARE THE RESPONSIBLE ONES!

Be aware
Report what you know.
End the cycle
Let our legislators know that we demand an end to these kinds of numbers

PREVALENCE is the huge incidence surrounding child sexual abuse.

Sexual abuse touches every life when violence and crime occurs when:

There are disorders like eating, weight, substance abuse, suicide, promiscuity/prostitution, psychiatric issues;
Survivors of childhood sexual abuse lose their trust, self esteem, and develop shame, guilt and depression.

Remember NOBODY WANTED TO TALK ABOUT IT ... UNTIL NOW!!!

The numbers are much greater than you think

1 in 4 girls is sexually abused before the age of 14 (1).
1 in 6 boys is sexually abused before the age of 16 (1).
Teens, between the ages of 16 and 19, are 3.5 times more likely to be sexually abused than the general population (2).
39 million survivors of childhood sexual abuse exist in America today (3).

Children are not immune anywhere, not even in your own home

95% of all victims know their perpetrators (4).
With girls, 29% were relatives and 60% were acquaintances (5).
With boys 16% were relatives and 44% were acquaintances (5).
15% of the students will be sexually abused by a school staff member during their school life (6).

It occurs at all ages, probably younger than you think

The median age for reported abuse is 9.9 for boys and 9.6 for girls (7)
For 22% of boys and 23% of girls, sexual abuse occurred before age of 8 (7).
50% of all victims of forcible sodomy, sexual assault with object, and forcible fondling were children under 12 (8).

And to rub salt in the wound, don't expect your child to tell even if you have asked.

Only 1 in 10 tell (9)
42% of women and 33% of men never disclose the experience to ANYONE (7).
Young victims may not recognize their victimization as sexual abuse (10).
79% initially deny abuse or are tentative in disclosing. Of those who do disclose, approximately 75% disclose accidentally.
Additionally, of those who do disclose, 22% eventually recant even though the abuse occurred (11).
Fabricated sexual abuse reports constitute only 1% to 4% of all reported cases.
Of these reports, 75% are falsely reported by adults and 25% are reported by children.
Children only fabricate ½% of the time (12).

These numbers are alarming. We as a society should not put up with any longer. YOU can help.

Become involved.
Learn how to see the signs.
Volunteer in your town or city to help survivors.
Give generously so that we may continue this responsible campaign to rid ourselves of this epidemic.
Demand changes in the laws that will stop this cycle.

(1) Hopper, J. (1998). Child Abuse: Statistics, Research, Resources. Boston, MA: Boston Univ. School Of Medicine.
(2) US Department Of Justice. (1996). Bureau Of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, Washington, D.C.
(3) Faulkner, N. (1996). Sexual Abuse Recognition And Non-Disclosure Inventory Of Young Adolescents. Ann Arbor, MI: UMI.
(4)National Committee For Prevention Of Child Abuse. (1992). Donnelly, A., Executive Dir. Chicago, IL, Connecticut Affiliate.
(5) Russell, D. et al., (1986). The Secret Trauma; Finkelhor, David Et Al., (1990) Sexual Abuse In A National Survey
(6) Shakeshaft, C. (1998). Testimony, NYS Senate Committee On Children And Families.
(7) Finkelhor, D, et al. (1990). Sexual Abuse In A National Survey Of Adult Men And Women: Prevalence, Characteristics, And Risk Factors.
(8) Snyder, H N. (2000). Sexual Assault Of Young Children As Reported To Law Enforcement: Victim, Incident, And Offender Characteristics. Washington, D.C.: National Center For Juvenile Justice, U.S. Department Of Justice.
(9) National Victim Center Handbook. (1991). Janssen, M.R. (1984). Incest: Exploitive Child Abuse.
(10) Gilbert, N. (1988). Teaching Children To Prevent Sexual Abuse. The Public Interest.
(11) Sorensen, T., Snow, B. (1991). How Children Tell: The Process of Disclosure in Child Sexual Abuse. Child Welfare League of America.
(12) National Victim Center Handbook. (1991).
(13) Zierler, et al. (1991). American Journal of Public Health.
(14) Wonderlich M.D., S. (2000). Univ of N. Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences in Fargo; Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
(15) Kendler M.D., K. (2000). Medical College of Virginia Commonwealth Univ.; Archives of General Psychiatry.
(16) Lisak, D. (1994). The Psychological Impact of Sexual Abuse: Content Analysis Interviews with Male Survivors. Journal of Traumatic Stress.
(17) Finkelhor, D. & Browne, A. (1986). Impact Of Child Sexual Abuse: A Review Of The Research. Psychological Bulletin.
(18) Bureau of Justice Statistics. (1991). Bureau Of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, Washington, D.C.
(19) Holmes, Dr. W. (1998). Univ. of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. www.msnbc.com/news
(20) Elliot, M. et al. (1995) Child Sexual Abuse Prevention: What Offenders Tell Us
(21) Abel, G. et al (1987) Self Reported Sex Crimes On Non-Incarcerated Paraphiliacs. Journal Of Interpersonal Violence.
(22) South Carolina Other Forcible Sex Crimes, (1999) Summary, South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. Columbia, SC

Information Courtesy of Darkness to Light