Child Sexual Abuse
If you suspect a child you know is a survivor of child sexual abuse, there are signs and symptoms you can watch for. Learn not only how to recognize child sex abuse but also how to help children disclose and report the abuse when it occurs.
NAVIGATE THIS PAGE
- Child sexual abuse can happen to any child and may be perpetrated by anyone, but it often occurs with someone the child knows and trusts.
- There are specific signs and symptoms of child sexual abuse that you can watch for to help protect children.
- Report child sex abuse when it happens and reach out to resources for treatment and advocacy.
What Is Child Sex Abuse?
Child sex abuse involves any sexual contact between an adult and a child or between an older child and a younger child for the sexual gratification of the older party. Sexual abuse of children takes numerous forms and does not always involve physical contact between the victim and the abusive party. Emotional abuse, sexual grooming, or exposure to pornography are all forms of child sexual abuse, even though they do not inherently involve physical contact or result in injury to the victim.
Keeping an eye out for warning signs of sexual abuse and establishing yourself as a safe and trustworthy adult can help protect children from abuse. If you suspect a child is suffering from abuse, it’s important to talk to them about it in a safe space and report the abuse to the appropriate authorities.
Who Has the Highest Risk?
Child sexual abuse can happen to any child. However, certain youth demographics are statistically more likely to experience child sexual abuse than others. Demographic factors indicating a higher likelihood of sexual abuse include gender, disability status, social class, and family background.
Specifically, the following factors are associated with a heightened risk for children to experience child sexual abuse:
- Females comprise 82 percent of all survivors of sexual abuse under the age of 18.
- LGBT children or children who may go on to identify as LGBT as adults are vulnerable.
- Children with mental and physical disabilities
- Physically disabled children are 2.9 times more likely than non-disabled children to experience sexual abuse.
- Intellectually, cognitively, or mentally disabled children are 4.6 times more likely than non-disabled children to experience sexual abuse.
- Children from low-income families are three times as likely to experience childhood sexual abuse.
- Children living in single-parent households or foster care
- Children living without both biological parents are 10 times as likely to be sexually abused.
- Children living with a biological parent and the parent’s non-biologically related partner are 20 times more likely to be sexually abused.
- Children of parents struggling with problems like mental illness and drug addiction are vulnerable to abuse.
- Children of color
- Indigenous and Black children, in particular, are over twice as likely as white children to experience child sexual abuse.
Signs & Symptoms of Child Sexual Abuse
It can be difficult for a child to verbally report child sexual abuse, especially for younger children. However, there are several signs and symptoms of child sexual abuse that may indicate that a child is suffering harm. These signals can appear in virtually every part of a child’s life and do not always include a visible physical injury.
Signs and symptoms of child sexual abuse are commonly visible in children in terms of behavioral, emotional, and physical changes. Potential long-term effects of child sexual abuse are also important to look out for in children who may have experienced abuse.
Behavioral
A frequent indicator of child sexual abuse is sudden changes in a child’s behavior. Behaviors that may indicate sexual abuse include the following:
- Appearing threatened by physical contact or shrinking away from touch
- Sudden preference for being alone
- Changing hygiene routines, such as suddenly refusing to bathe or bathing excessively
- Silence and secret-keeping
- Regressive behaviors such as thumb-sucking or bed-wetting
- Age-inappropriate sexual conduct
- Excessive or age-inappropriate sexual talk or knowledge of sexual terms
Emotional
Abrupt changes in a child’s personality or emotional state are also common signs of child sexual abuse. These changes may include the following:
- New anxiety, fearfulness, or worry
- Decrease in confidence or self-esteem
- Personality changes such as newfound aggression or defiance
- Separation anxiety from primary caregivers or fear of being alone with certain people
- Nightmares or other sleep disturbances
- Depression or loss of interest in daily activities, friendships, and school
- Paranoia or hallucinations
- Self-harming behaviors
Physical
While not all sexually abused children suffer a physical injury, there are common injuries associated with child sexual abuse. Some injuries that may indicate sexual abuse are:
- Bruising, swelling, or other trauma on or around the genitals, anus, or mouth
- Non-menstrual blood on sheets or in underwear
- Persistent or recurring pain while urinating or during bowel movements
- Development of sexually transmitted infections
- Pregnancy in pubescent children and adolescents
Potential Long-Term Effects
Child sexual abuse has potential long-term effects on survivors. These often include mental health problems, such as depersonalization or derealization, loss of sense of self, personality disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, or post-traumatic stress disorder. Physical issues like obesity, chronic pain, and overall poor health are also common for childhood sexual abuse survivors.
Child sexual abuse can also result in destructive behaviors such as drug or alcohol abuse. Socioeconomic outcomes for survivors of childhood sexual abuse are also generally poor. Adult survivors of child sexual abuse are statistically less likely to be employed, attend college, hold skilled jobs, and own bank accounts, among other factors.
What To Do if You Suspect a Child Is Being Sexually Abused
Keeping a close eye out for signs of sexual abuse in children may result in suspicion that a child you know is being abused. If you believe a child may be experiencing sexual abuse, there are steps you can take to help the child disclose their abuse and report the abusive conduct.
Talking to Children About Child Sexual Abuse
If you suspect a child is suffering from sexual abuse, the first step to take is to talk to them about it in a safe, nonjudgmental atmosphere. Pick an appropriate time and place to talk to the child directly, and speak to them in a casual, non-threatening tone. Additionally, speak with the child alone or with other trusted adults, never in front of a suspected abuser.
When discussing possible child sexual abuse, use language the child can understand, and do not attempt to establish a framework of abuse too quickly. Asking broad questions such as “Has someone been touching you?” gives the child room to respond and expand on their answers. Using explicitly negative terms such as “hurting” too quickly is generally not helpful.
Allow the child to speak freely without interrupting, and follow up on statements with clarifying questions as appropriate when you hear something concerning. When addressing disclosures of possible abuse, avoid judgment or blame. Do not put the onus on the child. Rather, use “I” statements and language focusing on your own feelings. This helps the child to further explain the abuse without feeling as though they need to watch what they say.
Finally, be reassuring and patient with the child while discussing incidents of potential abuse. Do as much as you can to let the child know they are not in trouble, and keep in mind that conversations about abuse can be frightening or upsetting. Children who disclose are often afraid of consequences for their abusers. Let the child know that they are in a safe space and that they are doing the right thing by talking about what has been happening to them.
Responding When Someone Comes Forward About Child Sexual Abuse
Hearing that someone you know has experienced child sexual abuse is not easy. It’s important to respond appropriately when someone comes forward with a report of past or ongoing child sexual abuse.
To keep in mind what to do when someone discloses child sexual abuse to you, the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, commonly known as RAINN, has created the helpful acronym TALK, which stands for the following:
- Thank them for telling you. Acknowledge how difficult it is to discuss sexual abuse and that you appreciate the survivor’s trust in you.
- Ask how you can help. For children experiencing ongoing abuse, it’s important to report it as soon as possible. However, if an adult survivor is telling you about past child sexual abuse, let them make their own choices about how to proceed.
- Listen without judgment. Be present, offer reassurance, and remind the survivor that the abuse wasn’t their fault.
- Keep supporting. Follow up after the conversation to continue to offer empathy, support, and help.
Reporting Child Sexual Abuse
After discussing abuse with a child, it’s important to report the abuse to the appropriate authorities. In Washington state, Child Protective Services, or CPS, handles reports of child sexual abuse. The state has a toll-free hotline available to connect reporters of suspected child abuse with the appropriate local office, accessible 24/7 by calling 1-866-ENDHARM.
Certain individuals are “mandatory reporters” under the law who are legally required to report suspected abuse. Common mandatory reporter roles include teachers, counselors, doctors, nurses, and law enforcement. Reporting child sexual abuse protects a child’s best interests and helps keep them safe from further abuse.
Power Dynamics & Child Sex Abuse
A common myth about child sexual abuse is that abuse of children is perpetrated primarily by strangers. In reality, children are statistically most likely to be sexually abused by familiar adults. Roughly 90 percent of child sexual abuse is committed by adults victims already know and trust. These adults are commonly in specific positions of power over the children they abuse.
Adults are already in a position of social power over children, given their greater personal autonomy, physical strength, and maturity. However, adult abusers in specific positions of power, such as teachers, religious officials, health care providers, and family members, can weaponize power dynamics against their victims to intimidate, manipulate, and otherwise abuse a child’s trust to coerce a child into sexual activity and prevent them from reporting it to other adults.
What To Do if You Suspect a Child Is Being Groomed
Child sexual abuse does not always occur suddenly. Many children suffer sexual abuse at the hands of trusted adults who have deliberately groomed them into believing that sexual contact is normal and acceptable. The term “grooming” generally refers to the use of manipulative or coercive behavior by an abuser to gain access to a victim, convince them to agree to the abuse, and reduce the likelihood that the child will report the abuser. Many grooming survivors go on to blame themselves for the abuse, believing they consented to the abuser’s sexual advances and are culpable.
However, under the law, children are incapable of consenting to sexual behavior.
If you believe someone is grooming a child for sexual abuse, the best thing that you can do to provide support is to serve as a safe adult for the child to talk to. Emphasize to the child that sexual contact between adults and children is never OK. Stress that even if it seems an adult pressuring them into sexual activity likes or respects them, a trustworthy adult will never make sexual advances toward a child.
One of the most common obstacles that prevents grooming victims from disclosing sexual abuse is a sense of loneliness and isolation, which can lead to a feeling that no one is there to listen to them if they feel something is wrong. Offering a child safe and appropriate social support can be a major factor in helping survivors disclose abuse.
Treatment & Assistance for Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse
If you or a child you know has experienced childhood sexual abuse in the state of Washington, you have options for treatment and assistance. These include support groups, survivor advocacy services, and other resources aimed at survivors of sexual abuse.
