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Patterns of Sexual Abuse among Children: Victims’ and Perpetrators’ Characteristics

Most child sexual abuse research is based on the recollections of adults whose perspectives and biases might hinder identification of abuse risk factors. This study examined children’s immediate postassault reports. A convenience sample of health records of 95 children ages 6 to 14 treated in emergency departments from 2006 to 2010 was examined. Child victims’ mean age was 11.3; most were African American (87%) girls (86%) who were abused on weekends (73%). Most parents and caregivers (63%) reported alleged sexual abuse within 24 hours; 57% obtained medical help within 12 hours of abuse. Perpetrators had a mean age of 23.3, were overwhelmingly male (97%), and known to the child victims (80%), usually through their mothers, explaining why most children (57%) offered no resistance. Education, research, and health policy are needed to increase awareness of the potential for sexual abuse and physical harm to children by men known to the family.