Domestic violence and sexual assault are usually seen as adult issues, but they can have devastating effects on children. It is a mistake to assume that just because children are too young to understand adult violence or too young to know what sex is, they are not affected by abuse. Children who are exposed to domestic violence or who are sexually abused have the best hope of recovery if there is an adult nearby who will listen, believe, and care enough to act.
Children and Abuse
* As many as one in three girls and one in seven boys will be sexually abused at some point in their childhood, according to studies of child sexual abuse in the United States.(Briere J, Eliot DM. Prevalence and psychological sequelae of self-reported childhood physical and sexual abuse in a general population sample of men and women. Child Abuse and Neglect 2003;27:1205-22.)
In a group of 100 people, as many as 20 to 30 were sexually abused as children. (Stop It Now!)
In a group of 100 people, as many as 20 to 30 were sexually abused as children. (Stop It Now!)
