by Patricia Watson

Created on: August 29, 2011   Last Updated: September 08, 2011

 Child Sexual Abuse

Child sexual abuse has occurred throughout the generations but it is really only in the past 30 years that professionals and the public have become aware of the extent of this type of abuse. Child sexual abuse is not prescriptive and it occurs in families from the richest to the poorest, in different ethnic groups and in institutional settings such as the church and schools.

It is a subject that we don’t really like to talk about because it invokes such horror and disgust that an adult can so severely exploit the trust of a child. It is hard to accept that children of all ages are being sexually abused every day.

Who Abuses?

In general we mistakenly prefer to think that abusers are strangers rather than our neighbours or members of our family. But in the main this perception is wrong and research suggests that the majority of assaults on children take place within the child’s home or that of the offender. More often than not the perpetrators are known to the child and whilst the majority of offenders are male there are a small minority who are female.

From my experience working with child sex offenders I found that all were either relations or friends of the family. In most cases the offender had spent months gaining the families trust, befriending or grooming the child.  During interview regarding their abuse they had a tendency to either deny or  under play their behaviour, justify their abuse by making excuses, or view it as sign of their love and that the child was a willing participant. I found the most disturbing feature of the sex offender was that many of them believed that children are sexual beings and that it is only society that restricts them from engaging in sexual activity.  What brings about this mind set is unknown although research suggests that there is a link between brain structure and function. However sex offenders can not be cured although there are various interventions which attempt to reduce and prevent their behaviour. I understand that the success rates of such treatments are low.

Statistics

The National Society of the Prevention of Cruelty to Children research states that:

16,864 sexual crimes against children under 16years of age were recorded in England and Wales in 2009/10.

•          In 2009/10 the police in England and Wales recorded:

•          4,889 offences of rape of a

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