The Alberta Association of
Sexual Assault Centres
Working towards the eradication of sexual violence in Alberta
Sexual Assault Centres of Alberta
Fact Sheets
Women and Sexual Assault/Abuse
Children and Sexual Assault/Abuse
Children and Sexual Assault/Abuse
- In a 1991 Canadian study, about 4% of boys and 10% of girls experienced severe sexual abuse before the age of 17 (MacMillan, Fleming, & Trocme et al, 1997). In this study, severe sexual abuse is defined as an adult threatening to have sex with a child, touching a child's "sex parts", trying to engage in sex with a child, or sexually attacking a child.
- The most extensive study of child sexual abuse in Canada was conducted by the Committee on Sexual Offences Against Children and Youths. Study findings indicate that, among adult Canadians, 53 percent of women and 31 percent of men were sexually abused when they were children (Badgley, 1988).
- In 2003, 61% of all victims of sexual assault reported to the police were children and youth under 18 years. Reports of girl victims were highest at ages 11 to 19 and reports of boy victims were highest at 3 to 14 years of age (Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics).
- There is little evidence that many children deliberately make false allegations or misinterpret appropriate adult-child contact as sexual abuse. In the few recorded cases in which children appear to have made false allegations, it has usually been the result of manipulation by an adult. False denials of sexual abuse (saying it did not happen when it did) and recanting a disclosure of abuse (denying that it happened after having told someone about being abused) are much more common than false reports (Health Canada, 1997).
- Among substantiated sexual abuse cases reported to Child Welfare Authorities in Canada, non-parental relatives represented the largest group of alleged perpetrators (28%), followed by biological fathers (15%), and step-fathers (9%). Biological mothers held 5% (Trocme, MacLaurin, & Fallon, et al. 2001).
- In an analysis of 23 research studies (Jumper, 1995), significant relationships were noted between the experience of child sexual abuse and subsequent depression, lowered self-esteem, and psychological symptomatology including anxiety related problems, personality disorders, suicidal behaviours, psychiatric illness and dissociative disorders.
- A study by The Roeher Institute (1992) in Canada, found that 40-70% of female children with developmental disabilities and 15- 30% of male children with developmental disabilities experience sexual abuse.
- The legacy of sexual abuse in residential schools in Canada has resulted in generations of First Nations children and families living with the trauma associated with childhood sexual abuse (AASAC, 2005).
References
Alberta Association of Sexual Assault Centres. (2005). A Provincial Response to Sexual Violence Funding Plan. Calgary, Alberta.
Badgley, R. (1988). Child Sexual Abuse in Canada: Further Analysis of the 1983 National Survey. Ottawa, Ontario: Health and Welfare Canada.
Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics. (2003). Juristat, 23 (6), 1 - 26.
Health Canada. (1997). Child Sexual Abuse: Information from the National Clearinghouse on Family Violence. Retrieved October 10, 2005 from www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/ncfv-cnivf/familyviolence/pdfs/chlsxabs.pdf
Jumper, S. A. (1995). A meta-analysis of the relationship of child sexual abuse to adult psychological adjustment [Electronic version]. Child Abuse and Neglect, 19, 715 - 728.
MacMillan, H., Fleming, J., & Trocme, N., et al. (1997). Prevalence of child physical and sexual abuse in the community: Results from the Ontario Health Supplement. Journal of the American Medical Association, 278 (2), 131 - 134.
The Roeher Institute. (1992). No more victims: Manual to guide counselors in addressing the sexual abuse of people with mental handicaps. North York: Ontario.
Trocme, N., MacLaurin, B., Fallon, B., et al. (2001). The Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect - Final Report . Retrieved October 14, 2005 from Health Canada Web site: www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/ncfv-cnivf/familyviolence/pdfs/cis_e.pdf
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