Resources

Worldwide, 650 million (or 1 in 5) girls and women currently living have experienced sexual violence during their childhood. For boys and men, an estimated 410 to 530 million (or roughly 1 in 7) have encountered sexual violence when they were children (UNICEF, 2024).

A recent meta-analysis reported that the overall combined rate of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) was 24% (Pan et al., 2020).

A comprehensive review and meta-analysis have indicated a significant association between childhood sexual abuse and an elevated risk of developing PTSD in adolescence and young adulthood (Boumpa et al., 2024).

Individuals with a history of sexual abuse showed significantly higher levels of pathological dissociation, indicating a more profound struggle with their overall sense of self. Research has shown that dissociation plays a crucial role in the link between sexual abuse and the frequency of suicide attempts (Brokke et al., 2022).

Research clearly shows that psychiatric patients who have faced sexual abuse are significantly more likely to engage in self-harm and attempt suicide than those who haven’t experienced such trauma (Brokke et al., 2022).

Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is linked to various psychiatric disorders, with stronger evidence for its role as a unique risk factor in mood disorders, anxiety, PTSD, substance use, and sexual dysfunction. The evidence is weaker for personality disorders, psychosis, and eating disorders (Noll, 2021).

References

Boumpa, V., Papatoukaki, A., Kourti, A., et al. (2024). Sexual abuse and post-traumatic stress disorder in childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood: A systematic review and meta-analysis. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 33, 1653–1673. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-022-02015-5

Brokke, S. S., Bertelsen, T. B., Landrø, N. I., et al. (2022). The effect of sexual abuse and dissociation on suicide attempt. BMC Psychiatry, 22, 29. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-021-03662-9

Noll, J. G. (2021). Child sexual abuse as a unique risk factor for the development of psychopathology: The compounded convergence of mechanisms. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 17, 439–464. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-081219-112621

Pan, Y., Lin, X., Liu, J., Zhang, S., Zeng, X., Chen, F., & Wu, J. (2020). Prevalence of childhood sexual abuse among women using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire: A worldwide meta-analysis. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 22(5), 1181–1191. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838020912867

UNICEF. (2024, October). Sexual violence. UNICEF. https://data.unicef.org/topic/child-protection/violence/sexual-violence/#status

Websites 

https://www.aftersilence.org/aftermath.php

https://www.ourwave.org/

https://www.safehousecenter.org/domestic-violence/supportgroups/#sssg

https://www.survivorschat.com/

https://rainn.org/index.php

https://www.snapnetwork.org/

www.netgrace.org

www.bristleconeproject.org

www.childusa.org

http://www.naasca.org/

http://www.naasca.org/2011-Articles/040411-10WaysToKeepKidsSafeOnline.htm

http://www.naasca.org/2011-Articles/PDFfiles/Child-Help_disclosures-for-parents.pdf

https://www.stopitnow.org/

Child Sexual Abuse | Sexual Abuse Prevention | Darkness to Light