Child sexual abuse

I produced this report because child sexual abuse affects tens of thousands of children and young teens every year around the whole world. Though sexual abuse is all too common, many adults are unprepared or unwilling to deal with the problem when faced with it, leading to underreporting of the crime and stigmatizing of the victim. Child sexual abuse can take many forms, but is always a violation of a young person ’s rights, and increases the risk of many adverse physical and mental health conditions. An atmosphere of silence and poor communication around sexuality contributes to child sexual abuse. Programs can help empower young people to report unwanted contact and can prepare parents, clergy, and youth-serving professionals to recognize the signs of child abuse and take appropriate action. Females are more likely than males to experience child sexual abuse. Estimates of prevalence range widely, with studies suggesting that 12-40 percent of females and 4-16.5 percent of males in the world have experienced at least one instance of sexual abuse in childhood or adolescence. Youth with physical, emotional, or cognitive disabilities are over three times more at risk for child sexual abuse than their non-disabled peers, and may not be able to disclose to a trusted adult because of a disability which impairs communication (e.g. a hearing-impaired youth who has not been taught sign language for this concept)

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