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I've read a great deal about sexual abuse--during my own journey of recovering from childhood sexual abuse. Here are some stats that I found off the Web. There are hundreds of studies that echo the "1 in 4 girls, 1 in 6 boys" statistics. As many of these studies indicate, it may be impossible to know the precise statistics, because sexual abuse is underreported for numerous reasons. Even if the statistics are 1 in 10 girls and one in 20 boys...that's extremely high.
I've read more than 100 books on childhood sexual abuse and its effect on survivors. I'm certainly no expert but the "one in four" statistic is consistently repeated in hundreds of studies. Here are some citations I found in ten minutes. They might not answer all of your questions or back up everything I said, but they do give you some general stats that are out there currently.
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A.) A 1984 study found that one in four Canadian women will be sexually assaulted during her lifetime. Half of these assaults will be against women under the age of 16. -Study from: Statistics Canada, 1993.
B.) The National Resource Council estimates the percent of the U.S. population which has been sexually abused to range from a low of 20-24 percent to a high of 54-62 percent of the population; the higher estimate includes sexualized exposure without touching, such as masturbating in front of the child.1 The largest retrospective study on the prevalence of child sexual abuse found 27 percent of women and 16 percent of men reported abuse.---The National Resource Center on Child Sexual Abuse, "Fact Sheet on Child Sexual Abuse," Huntsville: NRCCSA, 1994.
C.) One in three girls and one in six boys are sexually abused before the age of 18. Source: Russell, Diana E.H. 1988. The Incidence and Prevalence of Intrafamilial and Extrafamilial Sexual Abuse of Female Children. In Handbook on Sexual Abuse of Children, ed., Lenore E.A. Walker. Springer Publishing Co.
D.) In 2001, clinical child psychologist Wade F. Horn reported on the work of researchers at Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health. The researchers found that nearly 20 percent of low-income women, recruited through family planning, obstetrical or gynecological clinics, had experienced child sexual abuse.
E. A 1985 Los Angeles Times nationwide poll found that 27% of female respondents and 16% of male ones had been sexually abused.
F. Sexual Abuse And Incest -- 20% to 25% of all children; one female in four and one male in eight in FBI statistics;
G.) A 1996 national incidence study conducted by the federal government found that girls are sexually abused three times more often than boys. Retrospective surveys reveal great variation, but do support the estimate that at least 20% of American women and 5% to 16% of American men experienced some form of sexual abuse as children. In a national survey of over 1,200 adults, victimization was reported by 27% of the females and 16% of the males.
H.) In a study by the U.S. Centers for Disease control of 5,000 college students at over 100 colleges, 20% of women answered “yes” to the question “In your lifetime have you been forced to submit to sexual intercourse against your will?” Thus, one in five college women has been raped at some point in her lifetime. (2)
I.) Objective: To ascertain the prevalence of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) in a community sample of Australian women. Design: Retrospective study, done in 1994, of cross-sectional data on the prevalence of CSA, collected as part of a larger two-stage case-control study of the possible relationship between CSA and alcohol abuse. Data were appropriately weighted to adjust for the different selection probabilities of cases and controls.
Participants: 710 Women randomly selected from Australian federal electoral rolls.
Results: One hundred and forty-four women (20%) had experienced CSA.
In 14 of these 144 women (10%), the abuse involved either vaginal or anal intercourse (i.e., 2% of the sample population experienced such abuse).
The mean age at first episode of CSA was 10 years, and most (71%) of the women were aged under 12 years at the time.
Perpetrators of the abuse were usually male (98%) and usually known to the child; 41% were relatives.
The mean age of abusers was 34 years, with a median age difference of 24 years from that of the abused individual.
Only 10% of CSA experiences were ever reported to the police, a doctor or a helping agency (e.g., community organisations, such as sexual assault services).
J.) Until the early 1970's child sexual abuse was thought to be rare, and centered among the poor. Experts now agree that child sexual abuse has always occurred and still exists in all socio-economic groups. Increased public awareness has led to greater reporting; from 1970 to 1990, child sexual abuse reports increased more than other categories of neglect or abuse.1 Despite this gain, child sexual abuse still remains vastly under-reported.--- National Research Council, Understanding Child Abuse Neglect, Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1993.
K.) A study in three states found 96 percent of reported rape survivors under age 12 knew the attacker. Four percent of the offenders were strangers, 20 percent were fathers 16 percent were relatives and 50 percent were acquaintances or friends. Among women 18 or older, 12 percent were raped by a family member, 33 percent by a stranger and 55 percent by an acquaintance.---Patrick Langan and Caroline Wolf Harlow, "Child Rape Victims, 1992," Crime Data Brief, U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics, 1994.
L.) Estimates of child sexual abuse rates vary for many reasons. Less than 10 percent of set abuse is reported to the police.--David Finkelhor, Gerald Hotaling and Kerti Yllo, Stopping Family Violence: Research Priorities in the Coming Decade. Newbury Park: Sage Publications, 1988.
M. The extent of incest and childhood sexual abuse is difficult to measure because of lack of reporting and lack of memory. One study in which adults were asked to report on past incidents found that one in four girls and one in ten boys experienced sexual abuse. Source: Boston Women's Health Book Collective
N.) WASHINGTON, April 20 /PRNewswire/ -- One out of every three adults in the United States -- and nearly one out of every four teenagers -- personally knows someone who was sexually abused as a child or teenager, according to a new national survey released today by the Center for Child Protection and Family Support.---SOURCE Center for Child Protection and Family Support
O.) Contrary to the belief that rapists are hiding in the bushes or in the shadows of the parking garage, almost two-thirds of all rapes were committed by someone who is known to the victim. 67% of sexual assaults were perpetrated by a non-stranger – 47% of perpetrators were a friend or acquaintance of the victim, 17% were an intimate and 3% were another relative.
National Crime Victimization Survey, 2004
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