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   Frequently Asked Questions

Who are the victims of Child Sexual Abuse?
bullet By the age of 18, 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 9 boys will have experienced some form of sexual abuse.
bullet These children can be of any age – from babies to older teenagers.
bullet There can be one child affected in a family, or more than one.
 

Who are the offenders?
bullet Approximately 98% are male.
bullet Approximately 85% are known to the child. Only 15% are strangers.
bullet Most offenders are relatives or close friends of the child – someone whom the child trusts. The most usual relationship of the offender to the victim is the father (natural, step or defacto).
bullet Most offenders are “average” men, coming from the full range of socio-economic, racial, cultural and religious backgrounds and are most commonly heterosexual.
 

Where and when are children abused?
bullet Children may be abused once or the abuse may continue over a period of years.
bullet It can happen any time that the child is accessible to the offender.
bullet Usually, it happens in the child’s own home, or in a place familiar to the child.
 

Why do people sexually abuse children?
bullet People abuse children for a sense of power and a sense of pleasure.
 

How does sexual abuse affect people?
bullet Sexual abuse is harmful.  There are many challenging effects for the victim that can take time to heal.
 

People who experience sexual abuse in childhood can experience a range of effects. 

Several factors can impact how a person is affected by sexual abuse, such as the nature of the abuse, whether it happened once or more than once, who the abuser was in the relation to the child (ie. child’s father or bus driver), the age of the child when the abuse started, how long the abuse continued, the response by people around the child when the disclosure was made (eg. people heal more quickly when they are believed and supported).

Whilst there are a broad range of effects based on the above factors, people who have experienced child sexual abuse may find it difficult to trust (due to the betrayal of trust), may experience feelings of anger, sadness, anxiety, shame, guilt and self-blame, find it difficult to develop a positive sense of self, may self-harm as a way of coping, experience trauma symptoms (eg. nightmares, flashbacks) and more.  Some people may experience depression and suicidal thoughts and feelings.

With time and support, people can heal from the trauma of child sexual abuse.