64 Tragic Child Abuse Facts

By Karin Lehnardt, Senior Writer

Published March 21, 2017Updated September 7, 2019

In the United States, approximately 1 out of every 4 girls and 1 out of every 6 boys is sexually abused._[1]
Seventy to 73% of child sexual abusers report experiencing sexual abuse in their own childhood._[5]
Approximately 60% of sexual abusers are known to the child but are not family members, such as family friends, babysitters, or neighbors._[4]
Approximately 30% of sexual abusers are family members, such as fathers, mothers, brothers, uncles, or cousins._[3]
It is estimated that less than half of all sexual assaults on children are reported to the police._[7]
A man in Melbourne, Australia, raped his daughter every day for 30 years from the 1970s until 2007. He fathered her four children, all who had severe birth defects. An Austrian man, Josef Fritz, kept his daughter imprisoned in a basement for 24 years and fathered seven children with her._[2]
The World Health Organization reports that 150 million girls and 73 million boys under 18 experienced forced sexual intercourse and other forms of sexual violence globally in 2002._[16]
According to the APA, women are the abusers in about 14% of cases reported among boys and 6% of cases reported among girls._[7]

Disabled children are at higher risk for sexual abuse than non-disabled children

Researchers note that some disabled children may not be able to distinguish between appropriate and inappropriate touching of their body, which leaves them particularly vulnerable to sexual abuse._[5]
While the murder rate for minors is twice as high in low-income countries than in higher income countries, sexual abuse in the home is found in all countries. In many industrialized countries, as many as 36% of women and 20% of men said they have been the victim of sexual abuse as children, mostly within the family circle._[16]
According to WHO, 1.8 million children are involved in pornography and prostitution. Over 1.2 million children have been trafficked._[16]
Francis Phillip Tullier, a 78-year-old convicted child molester who faced hundreds of molestation counts involving young girls, underwent surgical castration in order to be released from prison on parole. He had to pay for the surgery himself._[2]
The generally lower rate for male sex abuse may be largely inaccurate due to underreporting. Because men are traditionally encouraged to be physically strong and competitive, male victims may be more hesitant to report sexual abuse because they feel they are “less of a man.”_[8]
Child sex abuse includes body contact, such as kissing and oral, anal, or vaginal sex. Sex abuse can also include “flashing” or showing private parts, forcing children to watch pornography, voyeurism (trying to look at a child’s naked body), pressuring children for sex, having sex in front of children, and exploiting children for pornography or prostitution._[17]
South Africa has one of the highest rates of child abuse and baby rape. Researchers report that the belief that sexual intercourse with a virgin will cure a man of AIDS has led to such high numbers. It is estimated that every one out of eight people in South Africa has AIDS. An estimated 40,000 children in South Africa are infected with HIV each year._[8]
Most children do not tell anyone they have been abused, and those who do tell often have to tell several people before any action is taken._[17]

Childhood should be carefree, playing in the sun; not living a nightmare in the darkness of the soul.

- Dave Pelzer, A Child Called "It"

“Child-on-child sexual abuse” occurs when a prepubescent child is abused sexually by another child or children. Often, the child perpetrator has been sexually victimized by an adult previously. “Inter-sibling abuse” occurs when one sibling molests his/her own sibling._[7]
Nineteen percent (375 million) of the world’s children live in India, which is the largest number of minors in a country. India also has the world’s largest number of sexually abused children, an astonishing 69%, or 276 million children._[10]
Children who are victims of sexual abuse can suffer many serious health effects, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, eating disorders, somatization, neurosis, chronic pain, sexualized behavior, learning problems, animal cruelty, self-destructive behavior, suicide, antisocial behavior, sleeping difficulties and/or nightmares, angry outbursts, not wanting to be left alone, and further victimization into adulthood. However, not all victims show behavioral changes._[4]
Child abusers often do not use physical force but instead “groom” or use manipulative tactics, such as buying gifts, arranging special activities, exposing children to pornography, and roughhousing to keep a child engaged with and often confused about the abuser’s motives._[7]
Children living with a single parent or a parent living with an unmarried partner are most at risk for child maltreatment, which is over eight times the rate of children living with married biological parents._[7]
Children may not reveal sexual abuse because they feel shame or guilt, they worry no one will believe them, they fear being removed from their home, and they or their family may have been threatened. Very young children may not have the language skills to report the abuse or may not understand they are being abused._[7]
In his book Dirty Diplomacy, Craig Murray claims that the president of Uzbekistan, Islam Karimov, tortured and raped children in front of prisoners to make them offer false confessions._[5]
Researchers report that the vast majority of sexually abused children do not grow up to be offenders and that the “cycle of sexual abuse” does not fully explain why a person would molest children._[7]
Girls are more likely to disclose sexual abuse than boys._[15]

Males, especially children, are less likely to disclose abuse than females

Only a fraction of abusers are caught and convicted for their crimes. Most of those who are caught are eventually released back to the community, albeit under probation or parole supervision._[5]
According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services, 63,527 children were sexually abused in the U.S. in 2010, a drop from 150,000 in 1992. While some researchers were surprised that the recession did not cause more cases of sexual abuse, others note that the drop may reflect methodological changes of counting reports as well as lower levels of abuse._[7]
Africa has the highest prevalence of child sexual abuse (34.4%). Europe has the lowest rate of abuse (9.2%). America and Asia have rates between 10.1% and 23.9%._[8]
Sexual abuse, or any kind of abuse, negatively and permanently affects the physical development of a child’s brain. These physical changes result in psychological and emotional problems in adulthood._[17]
Women who were sexually abused as children reported significantly lower SAT test scores than women who were not abused._[7]
Approximately 23% of reported cases of child sexual abuse are perpetrated by individuals under the age of 18._[5]
Not all pedophiles are child molesters, and some child molesters do not meet the clinical definition of pedophile. Pedophilia is a clinical term that describes a person who has had repeated arousing fantasies, sexual urges, or behaviors related to sexual activities with children for at least six months. Pedophiles do not necessarily have to act on their urges. Child molesters have the same attraction to children, but they act on their urges._[7]
Child pornography is one of the fastest growing Internet businesses, increasing at an average 150% per year for each of the last 10 years. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) reports that it has reviewed more than 51 million child pornography images and videos._[15]
Of the arrests for the possession of child pornography during 2000-2001 in the U.S., 83% had pornographic materials of children between ages 6 and 12, 39% had material involving children between ages 3 and 5, and 19% had material of toddlers under the age of 3 or infants._[7]
There is a clear link between possession of child pornography and the actual violation of children. The NCMEC estimates that 40% or more of people who possess child pornography also sexually assault children._[15]

A female circumcision ceremony in Kenya (Louisa Kasdon / World & I)

According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 100-140 million women and girls around the world have been victims of female genital mutilation, including 92 million in Africa._[6]
Researchers stress that it is crucial to respond in a supportive manner if a child discloses abuse. Children who disclose abuse and receive a negative reaction or no reaction at all suffer more from general trauma symptoms, dissociation, and PTSD than those who had supportive responses._[5]
Approximately 1.3 million children in America are sexually assaulted each year. There are an estimated 60 million survivors of childhood sexual abuse in America._[5]
Researchers estimate that 20 million Americans have been victims of parental incest as children._[5]
A 2004 study revealed that 9.6% of public school children, accounting for 4.5 million students, have experienced sexual misconduct, from being told sexual jokes to sexual intercourse by educators. Offenders include teachers (18%), coaches (15%), substitute teachers (13%), principals (6%), and student counselors (5%)._[7]
Ninety-five percent of molested children know their molesters._[11]
The 1992 film The Boys of St. Vincent is a docudrama based on real events about sexual abuse at a Roman Catholic orphanage and its cover up._[5]
Most child sex abuse offenders are 10 or more years older than the victim. More than half of child molesters are under the age of 35._[5]
Gerald Arthur “Jerry” Sandusky, famed Penn State football assistant coach, was arrested in November 2011 and charged with 40 counts of sexual abuse of young boys. The choice of his attorney, Joe Amendola, has been questioned because Amendola himself impregnated a 16-year-old in the 90s._[12]
The 2010 documentary Dancing Boys of Afghanistan reveals a custom prevalent in the area called bacha bazi (Boy for Play) where men buy young boys from impoverished families for sexual slavery. The young boys are forced to dress in women’s clothes and dance before being taken away by men for sex. One warlord reported having over 30,000 boys over 20 years, though he was married and had two sons. Some scholars note that repression of sexuality and widespread gender apartheid in the region contributes to homosexual pederasty._[7]
U.S. researchers have found that women who were sexually abused as girls repeatedly have a 62% percent higher risk of heart problems later in life compared with other women who were not abused. Much of the risk was related to coping strategies, such as alcohol abuse, overeating, and drug abuse._[4]
Child molesters come from all backgrounds and social classes. However, most molesters (1) are male, (2) work in an environment surrounded by children, (3) befriend the parents first and then gain the child’s trust, and (4) attend events such as sports, camping, and video arcades._[5]

Pedophiles are often likable, friendly, engaging, and frequent events that children attend

Between 250,000-500,000 child molesters reside in the U.S. today._[14]
Male offenders who abused girls have an average of 52 victims each. Men who molested boys had an average of 150 victims each._[5]
Up to 20,000 children were sexually abused by 800 Roman Catholic workers in the Netherlands since 1945._[5]
In November 2011, Christopher Jarvis, a Catholic Church pedophile abuse investigator, admitted to possessing, making, and distributing indecent images of children. Hired by the church as a child safety coordinator in 2002, he had more than 4,000 images of primarily boys, including rape, from ages 10-12 on his camera memory stick and laptop._[7]
The Society of Jesus’ Pacific Northwest unit and its insurers agreed to pay a record $166.1 million to about 470 people, mainly Native American children, who were sexually and psychologically abused as children by Jesuit priests from the 1940s to the 1990s. The settlement was the largest settlement by a religious order in the history of the world._[7]
The Catholic pedophile scandal in the U.S. broke in 2002 when it was reported that many leaders of the archdiocese had moved priests who had abused minors to new parishes rather than reporting them or defrocking them. The scandal has involved almost every US Catholic diocese, including 4,400 priests and 110,000 children who were abused between 1950 and 2002._[7]
Child marriages are legal in several countries. For example, in Yemen, more than a quarter of girls are married before the age of 15. As recently as 2010, a 12-year-old child bride in Yemen died from internal bleeding following intercourse. Additionally, it is not uncommon in Saudi Arabia for a 12-year-old girl to be married to an 80-year-old man._[9]
According to the FBI, approximately 1 in 10 men have molested a child, with little chance of being caught (3%). Additionally, the FBI estimates that a child has almost a 25% chance of being molested._[14]
The FBI estimates that there is a sex offender living in every square mile in the United States._[14]
According to Dr. Herbert Wagemaker, an estimated 4% of the population suffers from sexual attraction toward children._[7]
The re-arrest rate for convicted child molesters is 52%._[7]
There is just a small subset of child sexual abusers who are exclusively attracted to just children. A majority of people who abuse children are or have been attracted to adults as well._[11]

It is crucial to be nonjudgmental if a child discloses sexual abuse

If a child reveals that he or she has been sexually abused, it is crucial that adults listen non-judgmentally to the child and report it immediately. If the abuse is within the family, report it to the local Child Protection Agency. If the abuse is outside the family, report it to the police or district attorney’s office. Parents should also consult a pediatrician and a child/adolescent psychiatrist. It is important the child understands that the abuse is not his or her fault. A child should never be blamed for the abuse._[17]
Classic signs of sexual abuse include odd injuries, ripped clothes or underwear, depression, alcohol and drug abuse, hyper-sexuality, withdrawal, exceptional fear of a person or certain places, unreasonable fear of a physical exam, drawings that are scary or that use a lot of black and red, and attempts to get other children to perform sexual acts._[17]
Most sexual assaults are committed by the same race as the victim. An exception to this is Native Americans. Those who commit a sexual crime against Native Americans are usually not Native American._[11]
Prison inmates are more likely to assault fellow prisoners who have been convicted of sex crimes against children. Many inmates refer to molesters as “dirty” prisoners and that assaulting or killing them is doing a service to society. In the prison hierarchy, snitches and molesters are usually the most hated._[13]
Parents can help prevent sexual abuse by educating themselves and their children about what sexual abuse is and by staying alert to the classic signs of sexual abuse. Parents also need to teach their children about the privacy of body parts, listen to their children, and be aware of where and with whom their children are spending their time._[17]