National Clearing House on Family Violence - Child Sexual Abuse

Child Sexual Abuse

What Is Child Sexual Abuse?

Child sexual abuse occurs when a child is used for sexual purposes by an adult or adolescent. It involves exposing a child to any sexual activity or behaviour. Sexual abuse most often involves fondling and may include inviting a child to touch or be touched sexually. Other forms of sexual abuse include sexual intercourse, juvenile prostitution and sexual exploitation through child pornography. Sexual abuse is inherently emotionally abusive and is often accompanied by other forms of mistreatment. It is a betrayal of trust and an abuse of power over the child.

Child sexual abuse is a criminal offence in Canada. The Criminal Code clearly identifies those behaviours that are against the law. The Canada Evidence Act defines the forms of evidence that may be admitted in court. In recent years, both the

Criminal Code and the Canada Evidence Act have been changed to provide better protection to children.

How Widespread Is the Problem?

Child sexual abuse is largely a hidden crime, so it is difficult to estimate the number of people who are sexually abused at some time during their childhood (the prevalence of child sexual abuse). Both adults and children may be reluctant to report sexual abuse for many reasons. Their reluctance may be related to the historical norm of keeping such behaviour secret because of the sense of shame associated with it. If the abuser is someone close to them in terms of kinship or other bonds, they may be deterred by the likelihood that criminal charges and penalties may be imposed. Finally, the fact that the victims are young and dependent tends to be a major obstacle to disclosure.

Research consistently reveals that, for reasons such as these, most child victims do not disclose their abuse. Even when they do, additional barriers may be encountered. For many of the same reasons that children do not report the abuse, their families may, in turn, not seek help. If the family does want help, they may still encounter difficulties finding the appropriate services.

There are few national statistics on child sexual abuse in Canada. A 1994 report, Child Welfare in Canada: The Role of Provincial and Territorial Authorities in Cases of Child Abuse, describes the provincial laws, definitions and child welfare systems that deal with child sexual abuse. A 1996 report, Child and Family Services Annual Report 1992-93 to 1994-95, presents statistical data on child welfare services in Canada. The available data cannot be directly or easily compared among the provinces because the information is collected according to different definitions and parameters in each province. For example, in some provinces, data on suspected cases are combined with those on confirmed cases. In other jurisdictions, sexual abuse is not distinguished from physical abuse.

Nonetheless, the following information provides some insight into the incidence of child sexual abuse.

• It is estimated that there were nearly 12 000 investigations of child sexual abuse in Ontario in 1993. Sexual abuse was substantiated in 29 percent of these cases and suspected in another 27 percent.

• In British Columbia, more than 500 complaints of sexual abuse were received in March 1992.

• The most extensive study of child sexual abuse in Canada was conducted by the Committee on Sexual Offences Against Children and Youths. Its report indicates that, among adult Canadians, 53 percent of women and 31 percent of men were sexually abused when they were children.

Read the Report here....