1. 1 in 3 girls and 1 in 6 boys will be sexually abused before their 18th birthday. (Aust. Institute of Criminology, 1993)
2. In 95% of cases, the sexual offender is known to the child, that is, they are a relative or trusted friend. Only 5% of child sexual assault cases are ‘stranger danger’. (Child protection Council, 1993)
3. 84% of sexual victimization of children under 12 occurs in a residence. (Snyder, 2000)
4. 453 pedophiles revealed they were collectively responsible for the molestation of over 67,000 children; that averages 148 children per individual. (Abel, 1994)
5. The most vulnerable age for children to be exposed to sexual assault is between 3 and 8 years with the majority of onset happening between these ages. (Browne & Lynch, 1994)
6. 20% of women had experience childhood sexual abuse, with the age of abuse being under the age of 12 years for 71% of these women (Fleming, 1997)
7. In 98% of child abuse cases reported to officials, children’s statements were found to be true. (NSW Child Protection Council, cited in Dympna House 1998)
8. 1 in 3 Australians would not believe a child if they disclosed sexual abuse. (Australian Childhood Foundation, 2010)
9. 73% of child victims do not tell anyone about the abuse for at least 1 year. 45% do not tell anyone for 5 years. Some never disclose (Broman-Fulks et al, 2007)
10 As high as 81% of men and women in psychiatric hospitals with a variety of mental illness diagnoses, have experienced physical and/or sexual abuse. 67% of these men and women were abused as children (Jacobson & Richardson, 1987)
For more child sexual abuse statistics see Child Sexual Assault: Facts and Statistics http://www.bravehearts.org.au/files/Facts%20and%20Stats_updated141212.pdf
