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Do not fill this in! ===United States and Europe=== Child sexual abuse occurs frequently in Western society,<ref>{{Cite journal|vauthors=Kendall-Tackett KA, Williams LM, Finkelhor D |s2cid=2512368 |title=Impact of sexual abuse on children: a review and synthesis of recent empirical studies |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_psychological-bulletin_1993-01_113_1/page/164 |journal=Psychological Bulletin |volume=113 |issue=1 |pages=164β80 |date=January 1993 |pmid=8426874 |doi=10.1037/0033-2909.113.1.164}}</ref> although the rate of prevalence can be difficult to determine.<ref name="Finklehor-epid">{{Cite journal|author=Finkelhor D |title=Epidemiological factors in the clinical identification of child sexual abuse |journal=Child Abuse & Neglect |volume=17 |issue=1 |pages=67β70 |year=1993 |pmid=8435788 |doi=10.1016/0145-2134(93)90009-T}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|first1=Juliette D. G. |last1=Goldman |first2=Usha K. |last2=Padayachi |date=November 2000 |title=Some methodological problems in estimating incidence and prevalence in child sexual abuse research |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_journal-of-sex-research_2000-11_37_4/page/305 |journal=Journal of Sex Research |volume=37 |issue=4 |pages=305β14 |doi=10.1080/00224490009552052|s2cid=143565708 }}</ref><ref name="Kevin M. Gorey and Donald R. Leslie 1997 pp391β398">{{Cite journal|last1= Gorey |first1= Kevin |date=April 1997 |title= The prevalence of child sexual abuse: Integrative review adjustment for potential response and measurement biases |url= https://archive.org/details/sim_child-abuse-neglect_1997-04_21_4/page/391 |journal= Child Abuse & Neglect |volume= 21 |issue= 4 |pages= 391β398 |doi= 10.1016/S0145-2134(96)00180-9 |pmid= 9134267 |last2= Leslie |first2= DR|citeseerx= 10.1.1.465.1057 }}</ref> Research in [[North America]] has concluded that approximately 15% to 25% of women and 5% to 15% of men were sexually abused when they were children.<ref name=Whealin/><ref name="Finkelhor1994">{{Cite journal|author=Finkelhor D|title=Current information on the scope and nature of child sexual abuse|journal=The Future of Children|volume=4 |issue=2 |pages=31β53|year=1994|pmid=7804768 |url=http://www.unh.edu/ccrc/pdf/VS75.pdf |doi=10.2307/1602522 |jstor=1602522}}</ref><!-- Should be specific citations, not homepages<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unh.edu/ccrc/|title=Crimes Against Children Research Center|work=unh.edu|access-date=23 March 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unh.edu/frl/|title=Family Research Laboratory|work=College of Liberal Arts|access-date=23 March 2015}}</ref> --><ref name="Kevin M. Gorey and Donald R. Leslie 1997 pp391β398"/> In the UK, a 2010 study estimated prevalence at about 5% for boys and 18% for girls<ref>{{cite web |title=Child abuse and neglect in the UK today |url=http://www.nspcc.org.uk/Inform/research/findings/child_abuse_neglect_research_PDF_wdf84181.pdf |work=NSPCC |author1=Radford |author2=Lorraine |author3=Corral |author4=Susana |author5=Bradley |author6=Christine |author7=Fisher |author8=Helen |author9=Bassett |author10=Claire |author11=Howat |author12=Nick |author13=Collishaw |author14=Stephan |year=2011 |page=5 |access-date=2011-10-29 |archive-date=2014-08-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140816090004/http://www.nspcc.org.uk/Inform/research/findings/child_abuse_neglect_research_PDF_wdf84181.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> (not dissimilar to a 1985 study that estimated about 8% for boys and 12% for girls<ref name="Baker">{{Cite journal|last= Baker |first= AW |author2=Duncan, SP |year= 1985 |title= Child sexual abuse: a study of prevalence in Great Britain |journal= Child Abuse & Neglect |volume= 9| issue= 4 |pages= 457β67 |pmid = 4084825 |doi= 10.1016/0145-2134(85)90054-7}}</ref>). More than 23,000 incidents were recorded by the UK police between 2009 and 2010. Girls were six times more likely to be assaulted than boys with 86% of attacks taking place against them.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-13542007 "NSPCC says child sex abuse has risen to 64 crimes a day"] ''BBC News''. 26 May 2011. Retrieved February 4, 2012.</ref><ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8477726.stm "60 sex offences against children a day β NSPCC"] ''BBC News''. 25 January 2010. Retrieved February 4, 2012.</ref> [[Barnardo's]] [[Charitable organization|charity]] estimates that two thirds of victims in the [[United Kingdom]] are girls and one third are boys. Barnardo's is concerned that boy victims may be overlooked.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-28935733|title=Barnardo's: Sexual exploitation of boys 'overlooked'|newspaper=BBC News|access-date=23 March 2015|date=2014-08-27|last1=Malik|first1=Zubeida}}</ref> The estimates for the United States vary widely. A literature review of 23 studies found rates of 3% to 37% for males and 8% to 71% for females, which produced an average of 17% for boys and 28% for girls,<ref name="Rind">{{Cite journal|last= Rind |first= B|author2=Tromovitch, P.|author3=Bauserman, R. |year= 1998 |title= A meta-analytic examination of assumed properties of child sexual abuse using college samples |url= https://archive.org/details/sim_psychological-bulletin_1998-07_124_1/page/22 |journal= Psychological Bulletin | issue= 1|pages= 22β53 |doi= 10.1037/0033-2909.124.1.22 |volume= 124 |pmid=9670820|s2cid= 16123776}}</ref> while a statistical analysis based on 16 cross-sectional studies estimated the rate to be 7.2% for males and 14.5% for females.<ref name="Kevin M. Gorey and Donald R. Leslie 1997 pp391β398"/> The [[US Department of Health and Human Services]] reported 83,600 substantiated reports of sexually abused children in 2005,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://faq.acf.hhs.gov/cgi-bin/acfrightnow.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=68&p_created=1001610478&p_sid=xmCO-dUi&p_accessibility=0&p_lva=&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPTEmcF9zb3J0X2J5PWRmbHQmcF9ncmlkc29ydD0mcF9yb3dfY250PTEzJnBfcHJvZHM9JnBfY2F0cz0xMCwzMCZwX3B2PSZwX2N2PTIuMzAmcF9zZWFyY2hfdHlwZT1hbnN3ZXJzLnNlYXJjaF9ubCZwX3BhZ2U9MQ**&p_li=&p_topview=1 |title=ACF Questions and Answers Support |work=Administration on Children and Families |access-date=December 26, 2007 |publisher=US Department of Health and Human Services }}{{Dead link|date=November 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/pubs/cm05/chapterthree.htm |title=Child Maltreatment 2005 |work=Administration on Children and Families |access-date=December 26, 2007 |publisher=US Department of Health and Human Services |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080103004739/http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/pubs/cm05/chapterthree.htm#types |archive-date=January 3, 2008 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> while state-level child protective services reported 63,527 sexual abuse incidents in 2010.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.acf.hhs.gov/cb/resource/child-maltreatment-2010-data-tables#page=61|title=Child Maltreatment 2010 β Data Tables|last=Children's Bureau|date=31 December 2010|website=Administration for Children and Families|access-date=29 January 2018|archive-date=30 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180130091300/https://www.acf.hhs.gov/cb/resource/child-maltreatment-2010-data-tables#page=61|url-status=dead}}</ref> Including incidents which were not reported would make the total number even larger.<ref name=aacap2008>{{cite web|url=http://www.aacap.org/cs/root/facts_for_families/child_sexual_abuse |title=Child Sexual Abuse |work=Facts for Families, No. 9|date=May 2008 |publisher=American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry}}</ref> According to Emily M. Douglas and [[David Finkelhor]], "Several national studies have found that [[African American|black]] and [[Non-Hispanic Whites|white]] children experienced near-equal levels of sexual abuse. Other studies, however, have found that both blacks and [[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Latinos]] have an increased risk for sexual victimization".<ref>[http://www.unh.edu/ccrc/factsheet/pdf/CSA-FS20.pdf Child Sexual Abuse Fact Sheet] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303185014/http://www.unh.edu/ccrc/factsheet/pdf/CSA-FS20.pdf |date=2016-03-03 }}. (PDF). Emily M. Douglas and [[David Finkelhor]].</ref><ref>"[http://www.empty-memories.nl/science/Hanson_correlates%20ofsexabuse.pdf Correlates of Adolescent Reports of Sexual Assault: Findings From the National Survey of Adolescents]". (PDF). ''[http://cmx.sagepub.com/content/8/4/261.abstract Child Maltreatment]'' Volume:8 Issue:4 Dated:November 2003 Pages:261 to 272</ref> Surveys have shown that one fifth to one third of all women reported some sort of childhood sexual experience with a male adult.<ref name=Herman>{{Cite book | last =Herman | first =Judith | title =Father-Daughter Incest | publisher =Harvard University Press | year =1981 | location =Cambridge, Massachusetts | page =[https://archive.org/details/fatherdaughterin00herm_0/page/282 282] | isbn =978-0-674-29506-3 | url =https://archive.org/details/fatherdaughterin00herm_0/page/282 }}</ref> A 1992 survey studying father-daughter incest in Finland reported that of the 9,000 15-year-old high school girls who filled out the questionnaires, of the girls living with their biological fathers, 0.2% reported father-daughter incest experiences; of the girls living with a stepfather, 3.7% reported sexual experiences with him. The reported counts included only father-daughter incest and did not include prevalence of other forms of child sexual abuse. The survey summary stated, "the feelings of the girls about their incestual experiences are overwhelmingly negative."<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1016/0145-2134(96)00072-5 |pmid=8886468 |title=The prevalence and context of incest abuse in Finland |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_child-abuse-neglect_1996-09_20_9/page/843 |year=1996 |last1=Sariola |first1=Heikki |last2=Uutela |first2=Antti |journal=Child Abuse & Neglect |volume=20 |issue=9 |pages=843β850}}</ref> Others argue that prevalence rates are much higher, and that many cases of child abuse are never reported. One study found that professionals failed to report approximately 40% of the child sexual abuse cases they encountered.<ref>Keuhnle, K., Assessing Allegations of Child Sexual Abuse, Professional Resources Press, Sarastota, FL, 1996{{page needed|date=November 2013}}</ref> A study by Lawson & Chaffin indicated that many children who were sexually abused were "identified solely by a physical complaint that was later diagnosed as a venereal disease ... Only 43% of the children who were diagnosed with venereal disease made a verbal disclosure of sexual abuse during the initial interview."<ref>pg7., In. Keuhnle, K., Assessing Allegations of Child Sexual Abuse, Professional Resources Press, Sarastota, FL, 1996</ref> It has been found in the epidemiological literature on CSA that there is no identifiable demographic or family characteristic of a child that can be used to bar the prospect that a child has been sexually abused.<ref name="Finklehor-epid"/> [[Child marriage]] is often considered to be another form of child sexual abuse.<ref name=":1" /> Over 200,000 marriages involving minors were allowed between 2000 and 2015 in the US. These marriages were most often between an adult male and female minor.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=http://apps.frontline.org/child-marriage-by-the-numbers/|title=Child Marriage in America By Number|last=Tsui|first=Anjali|date=July 6, 2017|website=apps.frontline.org|access-date=2019-10-10}}</ref> [[Child marriage in the United States]] is allowed in the majority of states as long as parental consent or judicial approval (typically for pregnancy) is given.<ref name=":2" /> In US schools, according to the [[United States Department of Education]],<ref name="shakeshaft2004">Shakeshaft, C, "[http://www.ed.gov/rschstat/research/pubs/misconductreview/report.pdf Educator Sexual Misconduct: A Synthesis of the Literature]", U.S. Department of Education, 2004</ref> "nearly 9.6% of students are targets of educator sexual misconduct sometime during their school career." In studies of student sex abuse by male and female educators, male students were reported as targets in ranges from 23% to 44%.<ref name="shakeshaft2004" /> In U.S. school settings same-sex (female and male) sexual misconduct against students by educators "ranges from 18 to 28% of reported cases, depending on the study"<ref>Shakeshaft, C, "[http://www.ed.gov/rschstat/research/pubs/misconductreview/report.pdf Educator Sexual Misconduct: A Synthesis of the Literature]", U.S. Department of Education, 2004, p26.</ref> An American survey found that children sexually abused by relatives were much more likely to be affiliated with Protestantism, while persons sexually abused by nonrelatives were affiliated with liberal denominations or irreligious.<ref name="Ebaugh 2006 p. 252">{{cite book | last=Ebaugh | first=H.R. | title=Handbook of Religion and Social Institutions | publisher=Springer US | series=Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research | year=2006 | isbn=978-0-387-25703-7 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j92cSG4HJQ0C&pg=PA252 | access-date=2023-08-17 | page=252}}</ref> Significant underreporting of sexual abuse of boys by both women and men is believed to occur due to sex stereotyping, social denial, the minimization of male victimization, and the relative lack of research on sexual abuse of boys.<ref>{{cite journal | doi = 10.1111/j.1469-7610.1992.tb00862.x | last1 = Watkins | first1 = B. | last2 = Bentovim | first2 = A. | year = 1992 | title = The sexual abuse of male children and adolescents: a review of current research | url = http://www.sasian.org/papers/boysngirls.htm | journal = Journal of Clinical Psychology & Psychiatry | volume = 33 | issue = 10 | pages = 197β248 | pmid = 1737828 | access-date = 2007-03-23 | archive-date = 2012-06-16 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120616062331/http://www.sasian.org/papers/boysngirls.htm | url-status = dead }}</ref> Sexual victimization of boys by their mothers or other female relatives is especially rarely researched or reported. Sexual abuse of girls by their mothers, and other related and/or unrelated adult females is beginning to be researched and reported despite the highly taboo nature of femaleβfemale child sex abuse. In studies where students are asked about sex offenses, they report higher levels of female sex offenders than found in adult reports.<ref>Shakeshaft, C, "[http://www.ed.gov/rschstat/research/pubs/misconductreview/report.pdf Educator Sexual Misconduct: A Synthesis of the Literature]", U.S. Department of Education, 2004, p22.</ref> This underreporting has been attributed to cultural denial of female-perpetrated child sex abuse,<ref>Denov, Myriam S. (2004) "Perspectives on Female Sex Offending: A Culture of Denial"</ref> because "males have been socialized to believe they should be flattered or appreciative of sexual interest from a female."<ref name="Shakeshaft25" /> Journalist Cathy Young writes that under-reporting is contributed to by the difficulty of people, including jurors, in seeing a male as a "true victim".<ref>{{cite news |author=Cathy Young |year=2002 |title=Double Standard |newspaper=The Boston Globe |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/boston/access/122245371.html?FMT=ABS&date=Jun%203,%202002 |access-date=2017-07-05 |archive-date=2013-07-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130730063258/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/boston/access/122245371.html?FMT=ABS&date=Jun%203,%202002 |url-status=dead }} The article may currently be viewed for free on [http://reason.com/archives/2002/06/04/double-standard Reason.com].</ref> In the United Kingdom, reported child sex abuse has increased, but this may be due to greater willingness to report. Police need more resources to deal with it. Also parents and schools need to give children and adolescents regular advice about how to spot abuse and about the need to report abuse. Software providers are urged to do more to police their environment and make it safe for children.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/dec/29/estimated-20000-british-men-interested-in-sexually-abusing-children-police-chief-says Estimated 20,000 British men interested in sexually abusing children] ''[[The Guardian]]''</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page