• One in four girls will be sexually abused before they are 16 years old.
• One in six boys will be sexually abused before they are 16 years old.
• In an adult retrospective study, victimization was reported by 27% of the women and 16% of the men. (Cite: Finkelhor, 1990)
• About 95% of victims know their perpetrators.
  (Cite: CCPCA, 1992)
• 50% of all assaults take place in the home of the child or the offender.
  (Cite: Sanford, 1980)
• 35% of sexual assaults on children involve a family member.
  (Cite: King County Rape Relief, Washington)
• 10% of sexually abused children are preschoolers.
  (Cite: Children's Hospital, D.C.)
• Only 10% of sexual abuse offenses against children involve physical force or violence.
  (Cite: Jaffee, 1975)
• The average age of a child victim of sexual abuse is 11 years old.
  (Cite: Lloyd Duhaime, Barrister and Solicitor)
• An average of 5.5 children per 10,000 enrolled in day care are sexually abused, an average of 8.9 children out of every 10,000 are abused in the home.
  (Cite: Finkelhor and Williams, 1988)
• 80% of runaways cite child abuse as the major factor.
  (Cite: Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Government)
• Guilt is universally experienced by almost all victims.
  (Cite: Tsai and Wagner, 1978)
• 90 to 95% of all child sexual abuse incidents go unreported to the police.
  (Cite: BJS, Department of Justice)

Again, this is only a list, a collection of data that we have gathered from the Department of Justice, the Department of Health and Human Services, and other resources on the internet. This list serves only as a reference, a guide, and is not meant to be taken as a final arbiter of what is true and what is false, who is guilty and who is innocent.

Many sexually abused children may not exhibit most of, or even any of the indications of sexual abuse on this list. Whether out of fear, or shame, or both, children learn very well how to hide what has happened to them.

If you suspect a child is suffering any form of abuse, please contact your local authorities or call one of the national child abuse hotlines (we have several listed on our "Links" page).

Please, please do not be afraid to speak up for the children.

• Sudden fear of a particular place or person.
• Extreme mood swings, unexplained depression and excessive crying
• Moodiness and withdrawal from normal family activity and affection.
• And the opposite...extreme clinginess to a "safe" family member and extreme fearfulness when separated from that person.
• Sudden changes in personality
• Behavior and other problems in school (grades dropping, etc.)
• Running away from home
• Secretiveness
• Telling lies
• Suddenly has money (from unexplained source)
• Self-destructive behavior
• Hyperactivity
• Fear of the dark and fear of going to bed (new demands for a night light)
• Dysfunctional sleep patterns - insomnia, nightmares, bedwetting, sleepwalking, etc.
• Changes in eating habits
• Unexplained stomach upsets and aches
• Difficulty at bath time
• Changes in bathroom or toilet-training habits
• Regressive behavior such as thumb-sucking or signs of dependency that were earlier outgrown
• Difficulty in walking (limping) or sitting
• Bruises, rashes, cuts and other hurts the child cannot, or seems unwilling to explain
• Pain, itching, redness, soreness, unusual discharge from genital area
• Torn, stained, or bloody underwear
• Inappropriate displays of affection and sexual acting out
• Use of sexual terminology not normal to age level
• New names for body parts
• Unusual interest in sexual matters
• Sudden acting out of aggression or rebellious behavior - against siblings or other family members, with friends, violent play with dolls and other toys
• Hurting animals

• Four million child molestors reside in this country.
  (Cite: Department of Justice)
• 8 out of 10 prisoners convicted of sexual assault had committed their crime against a victim under age 18.
  (Cite: Department of Justice)
• One in five violent State prisoners (about 65,000 in all) reported a victim under the age of 18 years.
• An estimated 45% of those sentenced to prison for other sexual assaults (statutory rape, forcible sodomy and molestation) said their victims were 12 years old or younger.
  (Cite: Department of Justice)
• The median age of the victims of imprisoned sexual assaulters was less than 13 years old.
  (Cite: Department of Justice)
• In a 1991 BJS survey of prisoners convicted of child rape (victim being younger than 12 years old), 94% of the offenders said their victims were either a family member, friend, or acquaintance.
  (Cite: Department of Justice)
•  57% of child molestors were molested themselves as children.
  (Cite: Goldstein-Harte Study, 1973)
• A typical child molestor will abuse between 30 to 60 children before they are arrested - as many as 380 in their lifetime.
  (Cite: "The Effects of Pornography on Children and Women," at a hearing before the Subcommittee of Juvenile Justice - testimony of John Rabun, for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Sept. 12, 1984)
• The typical child sex offender molests an average of 117 children, most of whom do not report the offense.
  (Cite: National Institute of Mental Health, 1988)
• The average offender is involved with over 70 children in his or her "career" of offending.
  (Cite: Sanford, 1980, Abel and Becker, 1980)
• 97% of prisoners convicted of attacking children were male.
  (Cite: Department of Justice)
• 70% were white.
  (Cite: Department of Justice)
• 64% were married or divorced.
  (Cite: Department of Justice)
  

We are pleased and very grateful to those of you who have consented to share your stories, triumphs, and advice here on this page devoted to prevention and/or recovery.

Meg's Page
Legal Process Support Group
PLEASE NOTE: This group is not associated with Heart Healers, Inc. but we do like the idea of a safe place where some legal issues related to abuse and/or violent crime can be discussed in a supportive environment.
Mona's Closet


Please allow us to share with you a link to some very special "angels" who have made a difference for the kids: