Child Sexual Abuse

Since the mid-1970s, there has been increased interest in understanding child sexual abuse. This concern led to the founding of the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect and the passage of the 1977 Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation Act. A review of the child sex abuse research (Leiter, 63-82) demonstrates many similarities with what is known about rape. Like Brownmiller, Jellinek (26-32) elevates child sexual abuse to the level of a social problem by tracing its roots to patriarchal societies and their social institutions, belief systems, and myths. However, there are groups that do not view child-adult sex as a problem, such as the North American Man Boy Love Association; in fact, they advocate it.

In general, child sexual abuse can be defined as sexual exploitation of or sexual activities with a child by an adult, in which the child's health or welfare may be harmed or threatened. While all states consider child sexual abuse a crime, definitions vary from state to state and some states leave the interpretation to the courts. There is no real agreement among social scientists about the true extent of child sexual abuse, but all concede that the number of reported cases is increasing and that the actual numbers are underestimated, particularly for males. A comparison of national findings with less comprehensive research studies reveals conflicting estimates of the incidence of child sexual abuse. Commonly cited estimates suggest that one in four girls and one in six to seven boys will be sexually abused by the time they reach age 18 (Plante, 10-36).

Studies do not support a general social characteristics profile of the victims or offenders, although females tend to be at somewhat greater risk of victimization than males and males are overwhelmingly the offenders. The ages of greatest risk for victimization appear to be between 4 and 9. Most offenders are either known by or related to their victims and are not old. Only about 10 percent of child sexual abusers are strangers, although the Internet could change this statistic.

The impact of being a victim of child sexual abuse has been widely studied. It generally is agreed that the amount of trauma experienced varies with the type of abuse, how the offender is related to the child, how long the abuse lasted, how sexually intrusive the abuse was, the age when the abuse began, the reactions of others to the disclosure of the abuse, and the child's personality (Leiter, 63-382).

As an ever-increasing number of child sexual abuse cases have moved into the courts, particularly in cases involving divorce and custody, concern for balancing the needs of the legal system against those of children has arisen. Placing children in the courtroom subjects them to many of the same problems faced by rape victims: victim blaming and other courtroom-produced traumas. Although still in the early stages, reforms are being implemented and suggested, with one area of legislative reform focusing on increasing convictions and community notification once sex offenders are released. The latter was largely ...