How prevalent is child sexual abuse?

Child sexual abuse (CSA) is an unfortunately widespread issue. It does not only occur in certain areas or between specific types of people. Instead, it can happen anywhere, anytime, to any child or teenager.

Children and teens of all racial, religious, ethnic, gender, and age groups, and at all socio-economic levels can be sexually abused. While there are risk factors that may increase the possibility of sexual abuse, sex abuse is found in all types of families, communities, and cultures.

Barriers to Gathering Child Sexual Abuse Statistics

There is usually silence and secrecy around child sexual abuse. This stops people from talking about it, especially with researchers. This secrecy makes it difficult to know how often child sexual abuse happens, and to whom.
 
Additionally, each research project is different. Some projects target specific age groups, and some choose another sub-group to focus on. For example, some research is just about teens or just about people who were abused by caregivers.

Another barrier to gathering child sexual abuse statistics is that there is no ongoing comprehensive national effort to document all childhood sexual abuse incidents in the US [17]. This makes it even more difficult to access consistent, accurate child sexual abuse rates.

While we strive to use recent research to gather facts about child sexual abuse, such as data published within the last 10 years, it isn’t always possible. You’ll see that many organizations in our field will use older statistics when the research is high quality—and this further speaks to the fact that there are barriers to researching this complicated topic.

For these reasons, we have collected only what we consider the most widely requested statistics and facts about child sexual abuse.

Prevalence of CSA:

• One in 10 children will experience contact sexual abuse in the U.S. before age 18 [5, 23]
• More than 50% of child sexual abuse survivors were sexually abused before the age of 12 [6, 17].
• Research suggests that trans children are exposed to far more sex abuse than cisgender children [21].
• Globally, prevalence rates show that a range of 7-36% of women and 3-29% of men experience sexual abuse in childhood [3].
• Childhood sexual abuse is linked to a higher risk of long-term mental, emotional, and physical health problems, particularly PTSD, schizophrenia, and substance use disorder. [9, 1].
• More than one-third (35.2%) of the women who experienced childhood rape also reported completed rape as an adult, making them two times more likely to experience rape as an adult compared to women without an early rape history [13].
• A scoping review of the research shows that social norms about masculinity often make it harder for boys who have experienced sexual abuse to seek help or be referred to specialized health services. As a result, they are more likely to face severe physical violence and other forms of harm. [18].
• One in 25 children will receive online sexual solicitation [24].

Risk Factors for CSA:

• Children with intellectual, mental health, and physical disabilities are approximately three to five times more likely to experience sexual abuse than those without disabilities. [12, 15, 19].
• Over 90% of children who experience CSA are violated by an individual known to them or their caregivers [7]
• At least 31% of girls and 7% of boys involved in the juvenile justice system have been sexually abused [2].

Facts about CSA:

• In as many as 93 percent of child sexual abuse cases, the child knows the person that commits the abuse [4, 11, 16].
• More than 70% of children who are sexually harmed or abused experience this at the hands of another child [8] 
• Males made up almost 88% of perpetrators [22].
• 60% of children who are sexually abused do not disclose [14]. 
• The 5-year sexual recidivism rate for high-risk sex offenders is 22% from the time of release, and decreases for this risk level to 4.2% for those who have remained offense-free for 10 years. Recidivism rates of low-risk offenders are consistently low (1%-5%) [10].
• In a 2015 survey conducted by the Crimes Against Children Research Center at UNH, approximately 60% of young adults who experienced sextortion know the person delivering threats in real life [20].

References
[1] Almuneef, M. (2021). Long term consequences of child sexual abuse in Saudi Arabia: A report from national study. Child Abuse & Neglect, 116, 103967. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2019.03.003

[2] Baglivio, M. T., Epps, N., Swartz, K., Huq, M. S., Sheer, A., & Hardt, N. S. (2014). The prevalence of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) in the lives of juvenile offenders. Journal of Juvenile Justice, 3(2), 1-23. Retrieved from http://www.journalofjuvjustice.org/JOJJ0302/JOJJ0302.pdf

[3] Barth, J., Bernetz, L., Heim, E., Trelle, S., & Tonia, T. (2013). The current prevalence of child sexual abuse worldwide: A systematic review and meta-analysis. International Journal of Public Health, 58(3), 469-83. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-012-0426-1

[4] Douglas, E., & Finkelhor, D. (2005). Childhood sexual abuse fact sheet. Retrieved from Crimes Against Children Research Center website: http://www.unh.edu/ccrc/factsheet/pdf/childhoodSexualAbuseFactSheet.pdf

[5] Downing, N. R., Akinlotan, M., & Thornhill, C. W. (2021). The impact of childhood sexual abuse and adverse childhood experiences on adult health related quality of life. Child Abuse & Neglect, 120, 105181. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2021.105181
 
[6] Ferragut, M., Ortiz-Tallo, M., & Blanca, M. J. (2021). Victims and perpetrators of child sexual abuse: Abusive contact and penetration experiences. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(18), 9593. https://doi.org//10.3390/ijerph18189593

[7] Finkelhor, D., & Shattuck, A. (2012). Characteristics of crimes against juveniles. Durham, NH: Crimes Against Children Research Center. Retrieved from http://www.unh.edu/ccrc/pdf/CV26_Revised%20Characteristics%20 of%20Crimes%20against%20Juveniles_5-2-12.pdf

[8] Gewirtz-Maydan A, & Finkelhor D (2020). Sexual abuse and assault in a large national sample of children and adolescents. Child Maltreatment, 25(2), 203-214.) https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1177/1077559519873975
 
[9] Hailes, H. P., Yu, R., Danese, A., & Fazel, S. (2019). Long-term outcomes of childhood sexual abuse: an umbrella review. The Lancet Psychiatry, 6(10), 830-839. https://doi.org/10.1016/s2215-0366(19)30286-x

[10] Hanson, R., Harris, A.J.R., Helmus, L., & Thornton, D. (2014). High-risk sex offenders may not be high risk forever. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 29(15), 2792-2813. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260514526062 doi:10.1177/0886260514526062

[11] Katz, C., & Field, N. (2022). Unspoken: Child–perpetrator dynamic in the context of intrafamilial child sexual abuse. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 37(5-6), NP3585-NP3604. https://doi.org/10.1177/088626052094372

[12] Klebanov, B., Friedman-Hauser, G., Lusky-Weisrose, E., & Katz, C. (2023). Sexual abuse of children with disabilities: Key lessons and future directions based on a scoping review. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse. https://doi.org/10.1177/15248380231179122

[13] Lalor, K., & McElvaney, R. (2010). Child sexual abuse, links to later sexual exploitation/high-risk sexual behavior, and prevention/treatment programs. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 11, 159-177. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838010378299
 
[14] Latiff, M. A., Fang, L., Goh, D. A., & Tan, L. J. (2024). A systematic review of factors associated with disclosure of child sexual abuse. Child Abuse & Neglect, 147, 106564. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2023.106564

[15] Lund, E. M., & Vaughn-Jensen, J. (2012). Victimization of children with disabilities. The Lancet, 380 (9845), 867-869. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(12)61071-X

[16] Mathews, B., Finkelhor, D., Pacella, R., Scott, J. G., Higgins, D. J., Meinck, F., ... & Collin-Vézina, D. (2024). Child sexual abuse by different classes and types of perpetrator: Prevalence and trends from an Australian national survey. Child Abuse & Neglect, 147, 106562. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2023.106562

[17] Meyers, J. E. B. (2011). The ASPAC handbook on child maltreatment (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications. https://collegepublishing.sagepub.com/products/child-maltreatment-1-235520

[18] Moss, C., Smith, S. J., Kim, K., Hua, N., Noronha, N., Kavenagh, M., & Wekerle, C. (2023). A global systematic scoping review of literature on the sexual exploitation of boys. Child Abuse & Neglect, 142, 1-35. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2023.106244)
 
[19] Smith, N., & Harrell, S. (2013). Sexual abuse of children with disabilities: A national snapshot. Retrieved from Vera Institute website: http://www.vera.org/sites/default/files/resources/downloads/sexual-abuse...

[20] Thorn (2019). Sextortion wave 2 report: Summary findings from a 2017 survey of 2,097 survivors. https://www.thorn.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Sextortion_Wave2Report_...

[21] Thoma, B. C., Rezeppa, T. L., Choukas-Bradley, S., Salk, R. H., & Marshal, M. P. (2021). Disparities in childhood abuse between transgender and cisgender adolescents. Pediatrics, 148(2).  https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2020-016907. 

[22] U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Children’s Bureau (2015). Child maltreatment 2013. https://acf.gov/sites/default/files/documents/cb/cm2015.pdf
 
[23] U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Children’s Bureau (2022). Child maltreatment 2020. https://acf.gov/sites/default/files/documents/cb/cm2022.pdf
 
[24] Wolak, J., Finkelhor, D., Mitchell, K., & Ybarra, M. (2008). Online “predators” and their victims: Myths, realities, and implications for prevention and treatment. American Psychologist, 63(2), 111-128. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2023.106244