HOW PREVALENT IS CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE?

|2001 to 2005 Figures | Convictions (2000) | Studies
See HERE for more STATS

Estimates now state that at least 1 in 4 males & 1 in 3 females will have survived some form of sexual abuse before reaching the age of 18!

In the UK, that accounts for almost 21% of the population!

That means in excess of 10,400,000 people in the UK are survivors of sexual abuse.

Assuming the average person lives until at least 70 years old, that means 148,571 NEW ‘victims’ of childhood sexual abuse each year. These figures do not include those adults who have been raped.

To put it into more manageable terms... each time you see a car pass you in the street, just think "that's 3 people who have been abused"....you will not be that far wrong.


Sexual Abuse of Boys Tied to Psychological Problems as Men

Men who were sexually abused as boys or as adults often experience serious psychological consequences in later life, including an increased likelihood of trying to kill or harm themselves, a UK study suggested.

Researchers found that of nearly 2,500 men, those with a history of sexual abuse were more likely to report mental health, sexual or substance abuse problems. Among the 150 men sexually abused as children, 62% reported at least one problem, as did 56% of the 69 men who said they'd been sexually abused as adults--considered to be age 16 onwards.

In an earlier study, researchers had found that nearly 3% of men in a sample of general practice patients reported being sexually molested as adults. The same was true of 18% of men seeking care at a clinic specializing in genital and urinary health.

The study found that men who'd been sexually abused as children, who then reported unwanted sexual contact as adults had a higher-than-average risk of sexual problems, substance abuse and "self-harm." Abuse in adulthood is particularly tied to self-harm.

Overall, childhood sex abuse showed the most widespread effect on long-term psychological health, with these men being twice as likely to report disorders like depression and anxiety and nearly four times as likely to have tried to kill or harm themselves.

Men who reported abuse in adulthood are 2.5 times more likely to attempt to harm themselves, and the risk is close to 70% higher than average among men who reported 'consensual' sex with an older person before age 16.

"'Consensual' experiences in childhood and sexual molestation in adulthood are significant predictors of self-harm," according to Dr. Michael King, and his colleagues of Royal Free and University College Medical School.
Source: British Journal of Psychiatry 2002;181:153-157


* Prevalence of Sexual Abuse in a sample of 16-21 year olds.
Study by: Liz Kelly, Linda Regan and Sheila Burton.

Sample group of students in further education.
1,224 students: 62% female, 17% from minority ethnic groups, 48 individuals reported some form of disability.

Definition of abuse used:
Any event/interaction which the young person reported as abusive/unwanted before the age of 18.
59% of women and 27% of men reported such an incident.

16% of boys are sexually abused before the age of 18.
David Finkelhor, et al., Sexual Abuse in a National Survey, 1990

Men born in England and Wales in 1953, 7 in 1,000 have a conviction of sexual offences against a child, by age 40.
Marshall, 1997.

If you consider that perhaps only 5% of cases get reported and of that 5% only 35% lead to charges, then a staggering picture begins to emerge of enormous unreported numbers of offences against children. Add together the statistics about the number of victims each offender abuses and it becomes even more staggering.

Men convicted of sexual offences against a child claim 5 or more undetected sexual assaults for which they were never caught. Groth, Hobson and Garry 1982; Elliot, Browne and Kilcoyne, 1995.

Only 35% of the offenders are charged, 5% receive a caution and for 56% there is no further action. Prior, Glaser and Lynch, 1997.

In the adult retrospective study, victimisation was reported by 16% of the men. The median age for the occurrence of reported abuse was 9.9 for boys. Victimization occurred before age eight for 22% of boys.

Boys are less likely to disclose the abuse. 33 % of the men reported never having disclosed the experience to anyone. Source: Finkelhor et al., 1990.


IN BRITAIN ALONE...

...50% of those abused (now adults) never report the abuse

...In 67% of cases the abuse started before the age of 11 years old

...In 50% of cases the abuse lasted between two to eighteen years.
Source: National Commission of Inquiry into the Prevention of Child Abuse

...provisional information on 30 October 2000 shows that there were 5,190 sex offenders in custody in England and Wales.
Source: Home Office

...average cost per sex offender in prison in 2005/5: £40,000 per annum.
Source: Home Office

..At least a quarter of recorded rape victims are children.
Source: Home Office

...adults who experienced child sexual abuse are up to twelve times more likely to attempt suicide than those who did not.

"...the overall cost to society of sexual offences in 2003-04 was estimated at £8.5 billion a year" (Much of this cost was made of lost output and costs to the health services from long term health issues faced by survivors of abuse ..almost all this money is spent on dealing with the aftermath of abuse rather than its prevention.
Source: Childhood Matters (1997). The Report of the National Commission of Inquiry into the Prevention of Child Abuse.

...in 1997 the police were notified of 1,269 offences of 'gross indecency with a child under 14 years'.
Source: Home Office (1998) Criminal Statistics, 1997. HMSO.

...15% of a national sample of 998 children aged 8-11 years said they would not talk to someone if they had a problem.
Source: Ghate and Daniels (1997). Talking About My Generation. NSPCC.

The Sex Offenders Register only contains details of those offenders convicted, cautioned or released from prison for child and adult sexual offences after September 1997.

The Sexual Offences Act 2003 introduced in May 2004 altered the definition and coverage of sexual offences. This means that sexual offences data for 2004/05 are not comparable with those for previous years.


Centre for Research on Families and Relationships and ChildLine Scotland:
Perpetrators of sexual abuse and their gender

% of perpetrators

% of males

% of females

Birth Parents

42

71

29

Parental figure (step parents etc.)

10

87

13

Children (friends, etc.)

10

91

9

Adult relative (uncle/aunt,grandparents etc.)

8

65

35

Authority figure (teacher etc.)

8

59

41

Boy/girl friends

7

97

3

Strangers

7

95

5

Siblings (natural, step & foster)

5

73

27

Family friend/neighbour)

4

81

19

Same generation relatives (cousins etc.)

1

50

50

TOTAL

2,615

80

20


2005/6 FIGURES

OFFICIAL FIGURES 2000/1 2001/2 2002/3 2003/42004/5 2005/6 2006/7
Male rape
664 94 78 95 852 346 )))))
Indecent assault on a male
3,5303,6134,0964,0709981,428 )))))
Indecent assault on male child under 13
17 * * 1,227 1,394 1,237 )))))
Indecent assault on male child over 13
3,5303,6134,0964,070 9981,428)))))
Buggery
401 354 287 247 73 ))))) )))))

Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete, however, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts, justice dept and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

Data for 2001 to 2003 includes offences from the following principal statutes:

Sexual Offences Act 1956 (amended by the following amendments: Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, and the Sexual Offences Act 2000), and Sexual Offences Act 2003.

Data for 2004 includes a list of new offences under the Sexual Offences Act 2003. Source:RDS—Office for Criminal Justice Reform

There has been a rise in reporting male rape, with an 11% rise in sex crimes reported to Police since 2000/01!

Official Figures for the UK (2000)

Custodial Sentences: Male Rape for Year 2000

%

Total

Adult

Juvenile

2 Years or under

4%

9

6

3

2–3 Years

4%

23

12

11

3-4 Years

6%

40

32

8

4–5 Years

11%

63

59

4

6–7 Years

16%

69

69

----

7–8 Years

13%

64

62

2

8–10 Years

16%

88

88

----

10–12 Years

5%

27

27

----

12 Years and more

2%

14

14

----

LIFE

10%

40

39

1


STUDIES UNDERTAKEN....