Child Sexual Abuse
What is Child Sexual Abuse?
Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) involves an adult or older child using their influence to involve a child in sexual activity. The impact of child sexual abuse lasts a lifetime and can significantly affect the adult life of an individual. CSA is far more common than people are aware and often goes unreported due to fear of retaliation and guilt. Education for children can prevent them becoming a victim. Through equipping with self-protective behaviours, they can be taught when to say no and how to respond or report if something was to occur.
62% of child victims don't disclose the abuse, and some never disclose.
1 in 4 children are sexually abused. That's 25% of children experiencing CSA before their 18th birthday.
How Does This Happen?
Sadly, in approximately 80% of cases the perpetrator is a known and trusted person to the child, which makes it increasingly more difficult to report or tell another trusted adult. Due to a lack of education and tools for children, this remains a significantly under-reported issue, with many people coming forward well into adulthood. Studies have shown that the pathway to mental illness, substance abuse and crime often pointed to histories of sexual, physical or emotional abuse, with self-mutilation and suicide being another negative impact.
Who Does This Happen To?
With 32% of children who have reported sexual abuse attempting suicide, this is a huge issue and has significant impact on our future generations. Socio-economically, there is no clear pattern to define which children may or may not become a victim of child sexual abuse. In many cases 49% of female victims were first abused between 5-9 years old and 51% of male victims were 10-14. In most cases, these were non-isolated events, with a median of 3.5 incidents occurring. 1 in 4 children fall victim to CSA. The numbers are staggering.
Our Responsibility.
36,318 victims of sexual assault were recorded in 2023. That's an 11% rise on the previous year, clearly showing we need to make an urgent change to our approach to child sexual abuse. Despite this, minimal action appears to be taken by the Australian government in areas that matter such as policy changes and funding to address perpetrators adequately, ensure early intervention and prevention measures, education and support for survivors. This is why we partner with At The Ark, to provide emergency support after disclosure and educate children and parents on instigating preventative measures.