Child sexual abuse

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Child sexual abuse refers to sexual abuse of a child by an adult, or some other person significantly older or in a position of power or control over the child, where the child is used for sexual stimulation of another person. Studies of the effects of child sexual abuse often define it as including invitations or requests in addition to actual actions, with regard to any sexual interactions between adult and child, from kissing or hugging to completed intercourse, and all other related activities.

Under the law, "child sexual abuse" is an umbrella term describing criminal and civil offenses in which an adult engages in sexual activity with a minor or exploits a minor for the purpose of sexual gratification. The American Psychiatric Association states that "children cannot consent to sexual activity with adults", and strongly condemns any such action: "An adult who engages in sexual activity with a child is performing a criminal and immoral act which never can be considered normal or socially acceptable behavior."

Child sexual abuse can cause physical injury to the child and both short and long term emotional and psychological harm, including depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, propensity to re-victimization in adulthood, and other symptoms.

Professor of Sociology David Finkelhor, director of the Crimes against Children Research Center, describes "child sexual abuse" as requiring two components, "(1) sexual activities involving a child and (2) an 'abusive condition' such as coercion or a large age gap between the participants indicating a lack of consensuality." Finkelhor wrote that in the USA as of 1994, approximately 20% of women and 5% to 15% of men had experienced some form of sexual abuse as children; and that he did not find evidence of dramatic increases in recent generations, or that socioeconomic circumstances are major risk factors.

When an adult seeks or engages in sexual activity with a child, public sentiment usually concludes these actions as a manifestation of pedophilia, however most studies investigating incarcerated sex offenders suggest that the majority of convicted child sex offenders are not primarily or exclusively attracted to children. Pro-pedophile activists use the phrase "adult-child sex" and related academic defenses to redefine "child sexual abuse" through value-neutral terminology to normalize and promote the idea that children can consent to sex with adults and are not necessarily harmed by such practice.

Effects

The widely-accepted view of adult-child sex among both legal experts and lay people is that it is an inherently abusive practice by the adult against the child. Supported by evidence from several studies of child sexual abuse victims, psychologists argue that the inability of children to provide full and informed consent to sexual acts necessarily makes all such acts abusive in regards to the child.

The American Psychiatric Association maintains the position that "children cannot consent to sexual activity with adults", and condemns the action of the adult in strong terms: "An adult who engages in sexual activity with a child is performing a criminal and immoral act which never can be considered normal or socially acceptable behavior."

Physical

Depending on the age and size of the child, and the degree of force used, child sexual abuse may cause infections, sexually transmitted diseases, or internal lacerations. In severe cases, damage to internal organs may occur, which, in some cases, may cause death. Herman-Giddens et.al. found six certain and six probable cases of death due to child sexual abuse in North Carolina between 1985-1994. The victims ranged in age from 2 months to 10 years. Causes of death included trauma to the genitalia or rectum and sexual mutilation.

Psychological and developmental

Psychological damage may occur even when physical effects are absent. Long term negative effects on development, leading to re-victimization in adulthood, can also occur. Child sexual abuse has been identified as a predictor of future psychopathology, though it has no characteristic pattern of symptoms.Brown states that the data from prospective studies establishes a causal relationship between childhood sexual abuse and certain specific areas of adult psychopathology, including suicidality, antisocial behavior, PTSD, anxiety and alcoholism.

Kendall-Tackett et al. (1993) and other studies found that a wide range of psychological, emotional, physical, and social effects are associated with child sexual abuse, including depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, poor self-esteem, dissociative and anxiety disorders, and other more general dysfunctions such as neurosis, sexualized behavior, school/learning problems, and behavior problems including substance abuse, repeated victimization, destructive behavior, criminality in adulthood and suicide. A review of studies by Kendell-Tackett et al. found that two-thirds of the children who were sexually abused showed symptoms, and that "sexually abused children have more symptoms than non-abused children".A study by Baker and Duncan stated that “subjective reports of the effects of sexual abuse indicated that the majority (51%) felt harmed by the experience, while only 4% reported that it had improved the quality of their life.”

Caffaro-Rouget et al. (1989) found that 51% of their sample was symptomatic; in Mannarino and Cohen (1986), 69% of forty-five assessed children were symptomatic; 64% of Tong, Oates, and McDowell's (1987) forty-nine child sample were not within the normal range on the child behavior checklist; and in Conte and Schuerman (1987), whose assessment included both very specific and broad items such as 'fearful of abuse stimuli' and 'emotional upset,' 79% of the sample was symptomatic. A minority of abused children have been found to be healthy and asymptomatic, and the level of harm associated with the abuse may correlate with other factors. Prescott and Kendler (2001) found that the risk of psychopathology increased if the perpetrator was a relative, if the abuse involved intercourse or attempted intercourse, or if threats or force were used. The age at which an individual was first abused did not appear to be related. Other studies have found that the risk of adverse outcomes is reduced for abused children who have supportive family environments.. In addition, Whiffen and MacIntosh (2005) found that negative psychological outcomes (emotional distress) may be mediated by shame or self-blame, interpersonal difficulties and avoidant coping strategies for survivors of childhood sexual abuse.

Because child sexual abuse often occurs alongside other possibly confounding variables, such as poor family environment and physical abuse, some scholars argue it is important to control for those variables in studies which measure the effects of sexual abuse. and some have hypothesized "that abuse effects are at least in part the results of dysfunctional family dynamics that support sexual abuse and produce psychological disturbance (Fromuth, 1986) and that concomitant physical or psychological abuse may account for some of the difficulties otherwise attributed to sexual abuse (Briere & Runtz, 1990). In a 1998 review of related literature, Martin and Fleming, state "The hypothesis advanced in this paper is that, in most cases, the fundamental damage inflicted by child sexual abuse is due to the child's developing capacities for trust, intimacy, agency and sexuality, and that many of the mental health problems of adult life associated with histories of child sexual abuse are second-order effects. Other studies have found an independent association of child sexual abuse with adverse psychological outcomes.

Kendler et al. (2000) found that most of the relationship between severe forms of child sexual abuse and adult psychopathology in their sample could not be explained by family discord, because the effect size of this association decreased only slightly after they controlled for possible confounding variables. Their examination of a small sample of CSA-discordant twins also supported a causal link between child sexual abuse and adult psychopathology; the CSA-exposed subjects had a consistently higher risk for psychopathologic disorders than their CSA non-exposed twins. After controlling for possible confounding variables, Widom (1999) found that child sexual abuse independently predicts the number of symptoms for PTSD a person displays. 37.5% of their sexually abused subjects, 32.7% of their physically abused subjects, and 20.4% of their control group met the criteria for a diagnosis of PTSD. The authors concluded, "Victims of child abuse (sexual and physical) and neglect are at increased risk for developing PTSD, but childhood victimization is not a sufficient condition. Family, individual, and lifestyle variables also place individuals at risk and contribute to the symptoms of PTSD." The same study reported that "sexual abuse, perhaps more than other forms of childhood trauma, leads to dissociative problems" and that "these PTSD findings represent only part of the picture of the long-term psychiatric sequelae associated with early childhood victimization ... antisocial personality disorder, alcohol abuse, and other forms of psychopathology." Child abuse, including sexual abuse, especially chronic abuse starting at early ages, has been found to be related to the development of high levels of dissociative symptoms, which includes amnesia for abuse memories. The level of dissociation has been found to be related to reported overwhelming sexual and physical abuse. When severe sexual abuse (penetration, several perpetrators, lasting more than one year) had occurred, dissociative symptoms were even more prominent. Child sexual abuse has also been repeatedly associated in adulthood with depression and chronic pain.People with a history of child abuse, especially sexual abuse, are more likely than people with no history of abuse to become frequent users of emergency and medical care services.

It has been suggested that young children who are abused sexually by adult females may incur double traumatization due to the widespread denial of female-perpetrated child sexual abuse by non-abusing parents, professional caregivers and the general public. Turner and Maryanski in Incest: Origins of the Taboo (2005), suggest that mother-son incest causes the most serious damage to children in comparison to mother-daughter, father-daughter and father-son child incest. Crawford asserts that our socially repressed view of female and maternal sexuality conceals both the reality of female sexual pathologies and the damage done by female sexual abuse to children.

Neurological

Research has shown that traumatic stress, including stress caused by sexual abuse, causes notable changes in brain functioning and development. Various studies have suggested that severe child sexual abuse may have a deleterious effect on brain development. Ito et al. (1998) found "reversed hemispheric asymmetry and greater left hemisphere coherence in abused subjects; Teicher et al. (1993) found that an increased likelihood of "ictal temporal lobe epilepsy-like symptoms" in abused subjects; Anderson et al. (2002) recorded abnormal transverse relaxation time in the cerebellar vermis of adults sexually abused in childhood; Teicher et al. (1993) found that child sexual abuse was associated with a reduced corpus callosum area; various studies have found an association of reduced volume of the left hippocampus with child sexual abuse; and Ito et al. (1993) found increased electrophysiological abnormalities in sexually abused children.

Some studies indicate that sexual or physical abuse in children can lead to the overexcitation of an undeveloped limbic system. Teicher et al. (1993) used the "Limbic System Checklist-33" to measure ictal temporal lobe epilepsy-like symptoms in 253 adults. Reports of child sexual abuse were associated with a 49% increase to LSCL-33 scores, 11% higher than the associated increase of self-reported physical abuse. Reports of both physical and sexual abuse were associated with a 113% increase. Male and female victims were similarly affected.

King et al. (2001), studying 5 to 7 year old girls who had been abused within the last two months, found victims of early sexual abuse had significantly lower cortisol levels than control subjects. Victims of severe childhood abuse who suffer from PTSD have been found to have increased cortisol levels.

Navalta et al. (2006) found that the self-reported math Scholastic Aptitude Test scores of their sample of women with a history of repeated child sexual abuse were significantly lower than the self-reported math SAT scores of their non-abused sample. Because the abused subjects verbal SAT scores were high, they hypothesized that the low math SAT scores could "stem from a defect in hemispheric integration." They also found a strong association between short term memory impairments for all categories tested (verbal, visual, and global) and the duration of the abuse.

Opposing arguments

Some philosophers, academics, writers, and pro-pedophile activists have disagreed with the majority viewpoint. Author Judith Levine wrote in her controversial 2002 book Harmful to Minors that some scholars challenge the idea that all sexual activity between adults and minors is necessarily harmful. Levine clarified in an interview with USA Today that her statements referred to sex between adults and youths of 12 years and older. The article on this interview reported that a spokesperson for the American Psychological Association stated that "there is no drive among mainstream mental health professionals or social science academics to 'legitimize adult-child sex'", and that a representative of the book's publisher said that "the book does not advocate pedophilia.

A paper by David Finkelhor argued for "the importance of a stronger ethical position" than the belief that sex with adults causes harm to children. In his paper, Finkelhor calls into question what he considers to be three common arguments relating to "intrinsic harm", "premature sexualization" and "unnaturalness" of the act, describing them as both inadequate and lacking in solid empirical footing. Instead, he draws a parallel between adult-child sex and sex between a therapist and a patient, stating that while there may be cases where the patient benefits, it should still be considered wrong due to the fundamental asymmetry of the relationship.He wrote: "It is suggested that basing the prohibition of adult-child sex on the premise that children are incapable of full and informed consent will provide a more solid and consistent approach to the problem.

A few controversial studies have indicated that some children regard their sexual abuse positively. Psychologist Bruce Rind argued in a 1998 study known as Rind et al. that not all cases of adult-child sex should be termed "child sexual abuse". This study was condemned by the United States Congress, an event which marked the first time in U.S. history that Congress officially condemned a study published in a major scientific journal. Rind's study was a meta-analysis of 15 studies using college students that found that boys reacted positively in 37% of the cases, while girls reacted positively in 11% of the cases. The methodology of this study has been criticized by Dallam et al. (2002) but has also received support. One study found that most men formerly involved in woman-boy sexual relations evaluate their experience as positive upon reflection. There is contrasting evidence that some children who initially report positive feelings will sometimes go on to reassess their abuse in a negative light. 38% of the 53 men studied by Urquiza (1987) said that they viewed their experience as positive at the time, but only 15% retained this attitude. According to Coffey et al. (1996), this may be due in part to the stigma attached to child sexual abuse. One exploratory questionnaire-based study of 63 men and women who self-identified as maintaining at least a partial positive feeling about intergenerational sexual contact experienced during their childhood or adolescence suggested a wide range of possible effects in adult life, rather than a clearly-defined pathology. Of the 63 subjects, 41% recalled feelings of guilt, 35% said they were frightened at the time, and 29% reported feelings of shame. Russell (1986) speculated that the perception of a sexually abusive event as 'positive' could stem from a mechanism for coping with traumatic experiences.

The presumption of trauma or damage is hypothesized to be able to cause iatrogenic harm to child victims.

Epidemiology and prevalence

Dr. Gwen Adshead states that child sexual abuse occurs frequently in Western society. In research cited by Baker and Duncan, prevalence figures range between 10% in the UK or by other studies up to 62% for females and 16% for males in the United States. According to data from the Administration on Children and Families, of the US Department of Health and Human Services, in 2005 there were an estimated 3.6 million investigations by Child Protective Services in the USA; and of those, 899,000 were substantiated. Of the substantiated abuse reports, 9.3% of the cases showed 83,600 children were determined to have been sexually abused.

Based on a literature review of 23 studies, Goldman & Padayachi found that the prevalence of child sexual abuse varied between 7-62% for girls and 4-30% for boys. A meta-analytic study by Rind, Tromovitch, and Bauserman found that reported prevalence of abuse for males ranged from 3% to 37%, and for females from 8% to 71% with mean rates of 17% and 28% respectively. Berl Kutchinsky argues that most prevalence rates are overexaggerated and claim that the real prevalence of child sexual abuse may be as low as 1-2%. A 1992 survey studying father-daughter incest in Finland reported that of the 9,000 15-year old high school girls who filled out the questionnaires, of the girls living with their biological fathers, 0.2% reported father-daughter incest experiences; of the girls living with a stepfather, 3.7% reported sexual experiences with him. The reported counts included only father-daughter incest and did not include prevalence of other forms of child sexual abuse. The survey summary stated, "the feelings of the girls about their incestual experiences are overwhelmingly negative. Others argue that prevalence rates are much higher, and that many cases of child abuse are never reported. One study found that professionals failed to report approximately 40% of the child sexual abuse cases they encountered A study by Lawson & Chaffin indicated that many children who were sexually abused were "identified solely by a physical complaint that was later diagnosed as a venereal disease...Only 43% of the children who were diagnosed with venereal disease made a verbal disclosure of sexual abuse during the initial interview. It has been found in the epidemiological literature on CSA that there is no identifiable demographic or family characteristic of a child that can be used to bar the prospect that a child has been sexually abused.

In US schools, according to the US Department of Education., "nearly 9.6% of students are targets of educator sexual misconduct sometime during their school career." In studies of student sex abuse by male and female educators, male students were reported as targets in ranges from 23% to 44%. In U.S. school settings same-sex (female and male) sexual misconduct against students by educators "ranges from 18-28% or reported cases, depending on the study

Significant underreporting of sexual abuse of boys by both women and men is believed to occur due to sex steoreotyping, social denial, the minimization of male victimization, and the relative lack of research on sexual abuse of boys. Sexual victimization of boys by their mothers or other female relatives is especially rarely researched or reported. Sexual abuse of girls by their mothers, and other related and/or unrelated adult females is beginning to be researched and reported despite the highly taboo nature of female-female child sex abuse. In studies where students are asked about sex offenses, they report higher levels of female sex offenders than found in adult reports. This under-reporting has been attributed to cultural denial of female-perpetrated child sex abuse, because "males have been socialized to believe they should be flattered or appreciative of sexual interest from a female" and because female sexual abuse of males is often seen as 'desirable' and/or beneficial by judges, mass media pundits and other authorities.

The prevalence of child sexual abuse in Africa is compounded by a belief that sexual intercourse with a virgin will cure a man of HIV or AIDS. This belief is especially common in South Africa, which has the highest number of HIV-positive citizens in the world. According to official figures, one in eight South Africans are infected with the virus. Eastern Cape social worker Edith Kriel notes that "child abusers are often relatives of their victims - even their fathers and providers." More than 67,000 cases of sexual assaults against children were reported in 2000 in South Africa. Child welfare groups believe that the number of unreported incidents could be up to 10 times that number. Researcher Suzanne Leclerc-Madlala states that the myth that sex with a virgin is a cure for AIDS is not confined to South Africa: "Fellow AIDS researchers in Zambia, Zimbabwe and Nigeria have told me that the myth also exists in these countries and that it is being blamed for the high rate of sexual abuse against young children.

Disclosure

Disclosure refers to when a victim of abuse tells someone that he or she has been abused. How one responds to disclosure is critical to the victim’s short-term and long-term outcomes. Previous research has found that children who received supportive responses following disclosure had less traumatic symptoms and were abused for a shorter period of time than children who did not receive support In general, studies have found that children need support and stress-reducing resources after disclosure of sexual abuse Negative social reactions to disclosure have actually been found to be harmful to the survivor’s wellbeing One study reported that children who received a bad reaction from the first person they told, especially if the person was a close family member, had worse scores as adults on general trauma symptoms, posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms, and dissociation Another study found that in most cases when children did disclose abuse, the person they talked to did not respond effectively, blamed or rejected the child, and took little or no action to stop the abuse Although hearing a victim’s disclosure might be uncomfortable, for the sake of the victim’s wellbeing, it is important to be able to respond effectively. Showing that you understand and take seriously what the child is saying is an important first step. The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry provides guidelines for what to say to the victim and what to do following the disclosure

Types of child sexual assault

Child sexual abuse includes a variety of sexual offenses, including:

sexual assault – a term defining offenses in which an adult touches a minor for the purpose of sexual gratification; for example, rape (including sodomy), and sexual penetration with an object. Most U.S. states include, in their definitions of sexual assault, any penetrative contact of a minor’s body, however slight, if the contact is performed for the purpose of sexual gratification.
sexual molestation – a term defining offenses in which an adult engages in non-penetrative activity with a minor for the purpose of sexual gratification; for example, exposing a minor to pornography or to the sexual acts of others.
sexual exploitation – a term defining offenses in which an adult victimizes a minor for advancement, sexual gratification, or profit; for example, prostituting a child, and creating or trafficking in child pornography.
sexual grooming - defines the social conduct of a potential child sex offender who seeks to make a minor more accepting of their advances, for example in an online chat room

The legal term child sexual offender refers to a person who has been convicted for one or more child sexual abuse offenses. The term, therefore, describes a person who has committed child sexual abuse, without regard to the perpetrator's motivation.

Intrafamilial child sexual abuse

Intrafamilial child sexual abuse refers to child sexual abuse offenses where the perpetrator is related to the minor, either by blood or marriage. Such crimes are most commonly addressed in family courts, as opposed to criminal courts, although no laws prohibit simultaneous proceedings in both forums.

Incest refers to sexual activity between related persons, without regard to their ages or the presence of consent. 70% of all perpetrators of sexual abuse are related to their victim. Incest is a criminal offense in most states. In the majority of states with incest laws, a perpetrator of intrafamilial child sexual abuse may be prosecuted for incest instead of child sexual abuse offenses. A related perpetrator, if convicted under the state's incest law, will receive a significantly lower penalty for committing the same acts that constitute criminal child sexual abuse in that state. Recognizing this loophole, some states have altered their penal codes to prohibit prosecution of intrafamilial child sexual abuse under the incest statutes. In these states, which include Arkansas, California, Illinois, New York, and North Carolina, all perpetrators of sexual offenses against children are prosecuted under the same laws, without regard to whether they are related to their victims. These states retain their incest laws only for their original purpose: to prohibit sexual activity between those too closely related by blood.

Pedophilia

The American Psychiatric Association and the World Health Organization both define pedophilia as attraction by adults and older adolescents toward prepubescent children, whether the attraction is acted upon or not. According to researcher Howard E. Barbaree, "not all child molesters are pedophiles, and some pedophiles may not have molested children (ie there may be men who prefer sex with prepubescent children but who have not acted on their desires)".

The term "pedophile" is used colloquially to refer to child sexual offenders. However, pedophilia is generally defined as a sexual preference for prepubescent or preadolescent children, and is currently defined as a psychiatric disorder by the medical community. Neither definition requires the pedophile to have sexually offended, with the latter specifying additional requirements such as distress. Indeed, not all child sexual offenders meet the diagnostic criteria of pedophilia, and not all pedophiles act on their fantasies or urges to engage in sexual activity with children. Law enforcement and legal professionals have begun to use the term predatory pedophile, a phrase coined by children's attorney Andrew Vachss, to refer specifically to pedophiles who engage in sexual activity with minors. The term emphasizes that child sexual abuse consists of conduct chosen by the perpetrator.

Pro-pedophile activism

The movement to normalize the idea of "adult-child sex" and separate it from "child sexual abuse" gained public attention in 1948 with Alfred Kinsey's publication of the Kinsey Reports including his interviews with pedophiles, and increased momentum in the late 1990s with the infamous and widely discredited Rind et al. study, that has since been quoted by numerous pedophile advocacy organizations. Researcher Stepanie Dallam's examination of the Rind study, published in the Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, stated, "...a willing encounter with positive reactions would no longer be considered to be sexual abuse; instead, it would simply be labeled adult-child sex. ... After careful examination of the evidence, it is concluded that Rind et al. can best be described as an advocacy article that inappropriately uses science in an attempt to legitimatize its findings."

According to sociologist Mary de Young, pro-pedophile organizations and others seeking to gain social acceptance for pedophilia work to redefine or restrict the usage of the term "child sexual abuse", recommending a child's so-called "willing encounter with positive reactions" be termed "adult-child sex" instead of "abuse" In 1989, de Young reviewed the literature published by pro-pedophile organizations for public dissemination and found that pro-pedophile organizations promoted such adoption of "value-neutral terminology, along with several other strategies to promote goals of public acceptance of pedophilia, including promotion of the idea that children can consent to sex with adults, questioning the assumption of harm, and the declassification of pedophilia as mental illness, and other methods.

Baltimore psychologist Joy Silberg, whose clinical practice specializes in helping child-abuse victims, stated in a Washington Times interview that the "whole academic movement" to legitimize sex with children "is growing" and that "the efforts of people who would like to legitimize relationships between adults and children are actually being successful."

Claire Reeves, president and founder of Mothers Against Sexual Abuse (MASA), told the Washington Times that "intellectual defenses of pedophila are 'a huge concern' because they can function as 'a green light' to would-be child molesters." She stated, "Adults who might have a propensity to hurt a child might say, 'See, it's not harmful, these people are Ph.D.s, they must know.'"

Age of consent

Sexual relations between adults and children are widely outlawed, although the definition of child varies greatly between different cultures and jurisdictions. Adults violating these laws are generally subject to severe criminal penalties, in some cases life imprisonment or capital punishment.

The popular consensus in defining the appropriate age of consent has moved upwards in modern times, coincident with changes in scientific and moral views of human sexuality and the psychological and social nature of childhood. In England, the legal age of consent was 10 for three centuries, until the end of the 19th century. By the turn of the 20th century, 14 to 18 had become the norm in many places, particularly Western and Western-influenced countries. In the 21st century, sexual relationships between adults and minors aged 16 to 18 are now considered legal in most countries, but legal variations exist allowing for ages of consent as young as 12 or as old as 21.

While sexual intercourse without consent is considered rape, adult's intercourse with a child below the legal age of consent, either with or without consent, is punishable under law with varying severity. In case of statutory rape, consent by the child is not considered as legal consent.

International law

One hundred forty nations are signatories to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. This international treaty defines a set of protections which signatories agree to provide for the children of their respective countries. Articles 34 and 35 require that signatories protect their nations’ children from all forms of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse. This includes outlawing the coercion of a child to perform sexual activity, the prostitution of children, and the exploitation of children in creating pornography. Signatories also agree to prevent abduction, sale, or trafficking of children.

In the United States

Child sexual abuse has been recognized specifically as a type of child maltreatment in U.S. federal law since the initial Congressional hearings on child abuse in 1973. Child sexual abuse is illegal in every state, as well as under federal law. Among the states, the specifics of child sexual abuse laws vary, but certain features of these laws are common to all states.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Kansas v. Hendricks that a predatory sex offender can be civilly committed upon release from prison. The Supreme Court ruled in Stogner v. California that California's ex post facto law, a retroactive extension of the statute of limitations for sexual offenses committed against minors, is unconstitutional.

The U.S. has also instituted Megan's Law, which requires law enforcement to release information about sex offenders. It is a modification of the Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act, which specifies that information about both sexual offenders and individuals committing crimes against children must be released.

Minors' inability to consent

Between adults, most sexual activity does not constitute a criminal offense, unless one of the adults does not consent to the activity. In contrast, minors are unable to give consent under the law. Indeed, the term "minor" refers to a person who has not yet reached majority, the age at which one may give consent in any legal matter (for example, a minor cannot make a valid contract). Consequently, an adult who engages in sexual activity with a minor commits child sexual abuse.

Many states include in their penal codes a "Romeo and Juliet" exception for cases where sexual activity occurs between a young adult and a minor whose ages are within a few years of each other. This exception typically bars charging the young adult with a sex offense, if the young adult did not use force or coercion on the minor and the minor is a teenager.

Penalties for child sexual abuse

Penalties for child sexual abuse vary with the specific offenses for which the perpetrator has been convicted. Criminal penalties may include imprisonment, fines, registration as a sex offender, and restrictions on probation and parole. Civil penalties may include liability for damages, injunctions, involuntary commitment, and, for perpetrators related to their victims, loss of custody or parental rights.

During the last three decades many state legislatures have increased prison terms and other penalties for child sex offenders. This trend toward more stringent sentences generally targets those perpetrators who are repeat offenders, who victimize multiple children, or who stood in a position of trust with respect to their victims, such as a guardian, parent, pastor, or teacher.

In South Africa

In 1995, South Africa ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and committed to a range of obligations aimed at establishing and protecting the rights of children. The Child Care Act, (74 of 1983) and the Child Care Amendment Act, (86 of 1991; 13 of 1999) make sexual abuse of children a criminal offense.

In the United Kingdom

The United Kingdom rewrote its criminal code in the Sexual Offences Act of 2003. This Act includes definitions and penalties for child sexual abuse offences, and (so far as relating to offences) applies to England and Wales and Northern Ireland. The Scottish Law Commission published its review of rape and sexual offences in December 2007, which includes a similar consolidation and codification of child sexual abuse offences in Scotland.

Offenders

Offenders are more likely to be relatives or acquaintances of their victim than strangers.A 2006-2007 Idaho study of 430 cases found that 82% of juvenile sex offenders were known to the victims (acquaintances 46% or relatives 36%).

The percentage of incidents of sexual abuse by female perpetrators that come to the attention of the legal system is usually reported to be between 1% and 4%. Studies of sexual misconduct in US schools female sex offenders have showed mixed results with rates between 4% to 43% of female offenders. In U.S. schools, educators who offend range in age from "21 to 75 years old, with an average age of 28" with teachers, coaches, substitute teachers, bus drivers and teacher's aids (in that order) totaling 69% of the offenders.

Typologies for child sex offenders have been used since the 1970s. Male offenders are typically classified by their motivation, which is usually assessed by reviewing their offense's characteristics. Phallometric tests may also be used to determine the abuser's level of pedophilic interest. Groth et al. proposed a simple, dichotomous system in 1982 which classed offenders as either "regressed" or "fixated.

Regressed offenders

Regressed offenders are primarily attracted to their own age group but are passively aroused by minors.

The sexual attraction in minors is not manifested until adulthood.
Their sexual conduct until adulthood is aligned with that of their own age group.
Their interest in minors is either not cognitively realized until well into adulthood or it was recognized early on and simply suppressed due to social taboo.

Other scenarios may include:

Not associating their attractions as pedosexual in nature due to cultural differences.
Age of consent laws were raised in their jurisdiction but mainstream views toward sex with that age group remained the same, were acted upon, then they were charged with a crime.
The person's passive interest in children is manifested temporarily upon the consumption of alcohol and acted upon while inhibitions were low.

Fixated offenders

Fixated offenders are most often adult pedophiles who are maladaptive to accepted social norms. The etiology of pedophilia is not well-understood. The sexual acts are typically preconceived and are not alcohol or drug related.

Maletzky (1993) found that, of his sample of 4,402 convicted pedophilic offenders, 0.4% were female.

References

External links

Published articles

U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, Executive Summary of the Third National Incidence Study of Child Abuse and Neglect, 1996.
Vigil, J. et al., A Life History Assessment of Early Childhood Sexual Abuse in Women, Developmental Psychology, 2005.

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