Child Sexual Assault: Other Facts

• Approximately 1 out of 3 girls and 1 out of 5 boys will be sexually abused before the age of 18. Persons with developmental disabilities are sexually assaulted more frequently by a factor estimated between 4 and 10.

• The average victim of child abuse is between 8 and 11 years old. Some experts suggest that the most vulnerable child is between the ages of 6 and 10, and living in a two-parent home. Some experts estimate that 5 or 6 children in a typical classroom of thirty have been affected by sexual abuse, regardless of geographic area, race, or socioeconomic class.

• Approximately 90% of offenders are known to the child/ren. In addition, a child is 3 times more likely to be molested by a recognized, trusted adult than by a stranger. 50% of child victims are molested in their own homes or in the offender’s home.
• One recent study in Oregon found that more than 80% of known rapists were abused as children. The offender that rapes and is incarcerated has had an average of 76 victims during his lifetime.
• Perpetrators of sexual abuse are compulsive and repetitive in their offending behavior. The average pedophile will have an average of 244 victims in his lifetime. Forty-two percent of pedophiles begin their sexual abusive behaviors before the age of 12. Seventy-five percent of all perpetrators begin offending before the age of 13.
• Some experts say that incestuous parents often love their children. However, those parents put their sexual intimacy needs before those of the children. Sometimes this is due to a crisis in their lives or because boundaries get confused or unclear. The average length of an incestuous relationship is three years; it is rarely a one-time occurrence.

http://www.hccac.org/abuse/myths.html