Scope of Child Sexual Abuse
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The Scope of Child Sexual Abuse
Child sexual abuse is preventable. Knowing its scope – where it happens, to whom, and by whom – helps us stop it before it happens.
One in five children experience sexual abuse before the age of 18, but we can change that statistic.
Where are children most likely to experience sexual abuse?
Child sexual abuse mainly occurs at home, at school, and in other community settings, such as playgrounds, before- or after-school programs, faith-based organizations, and camps.
Child sexual abuse also often happens online—and this form of abuse is on the rise. One national survey found that 16% of young adults reported experiencing online sexual abuse before age 18.
Child sexual abuse is not inevitable. It is preventable, and we are the first generation with the tools to make this happen
Elizabeth Letourneau and Luke Malone
One in Five: Why Child Sexual Abuse Is Our Biggest Public Health Crisis―and What We Can Do to Stop It (2026)
What groups of children are at a greater risk of experiencing sexual abuse?
While any child can experience sexual abuse, research shows that some children are at increased risk.
Transgender and nonbinary youth
Transgender and nonbinary youth are more than two times more likely than cisgender youth to report experiencing sexual abuse.
Girls
20% of cisgender girls in North America have experienced sexual abuse, compared to 14% of boys.
Racial and ethnic minority girls
In a recent study, 23% of American Indian/Alaska Native women reported experiencing sexual abuse as a child, which was significantly higher than 17% of Hispanic women, 16% of White non-Hispanic and Black women, and 9% of Asian women.
Adolescents
For every 1,000 children, close to 1.3 children ages 12-14 have a substantiated report of child sexual abuse, compared with 0.8 children ages 5-11 and 0.2 children ages 0-4.
Gay, lesbian, and bisexual adolescents
Gay, lesbian, and bisexual adolescents are nearly four times more likely to experience sexual abuse than heterosexual adolescents.
Children with disabilities
Globally, children with disabilities are nearly three times more likely to experience sexual abuse than children without a disability. In the U.S., children – in particular, girls – with a learning disability are twice as likely to report experiencing sexual abuse than children without a learning disability.
Who commits child sexual abuse?
The majority of sexual offenses (about 88%) are carried out by a person in the child’s family or social network—not strangers. They can include the child’s:
- People in positions of authority or trust (e.g., teachers)
- Friends
- Romantic interests, including boyfriends and girlfriends
- Family members (e.g., parents, stepparents, siblings, grandparents)
- Neighbors
- Coworkers
Up to 70% of sexual assaults on children are committed by other children or teens —many of whom have been victimized themselves.
- Cole, A. B., Armstrong, C. M., Giano, Z. D., & Hubach, R. D. (2022). An update on ACEs domain frequencies across race/ethnicity and sex in a nationally representative sample. Child Abuse & Neglect, 129, 105686.
- Finkelhor, D., Turner, H., & Colburn, D. (2022). Prevalence of online sexual offenses against children in the US. JAMA Network Open, 5(10), e2234471. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.34471
- Letourneau, E. J., & Malone, L. (2026). One in five: Why child sexual abuse is our biggest public health crisis—and what we can do to stop it. Basic Books.
- Ybarra, M. L., Goodman, K. L., Saewyc, E., Scheer, J. R., & Stroem, I. F. (2022). Youth characteristics associated with sexual violence perpetration among transgender boys and girls, cisgender boys and girls, and nonbinary youth. JAMA Network Open, 5(6), e2215863.
- Thoma, B. C., Rezeppa, T. L., Choukas-Bradley, S., Salk, R. H., & Marshal, M. P. (2021). Disparities in childhood abuse between transgender and cisgender adolescents. Pediatrics 148(2), e2020016907.
- Moody, G., Cannings-John, R., Hood, K., Kemp, A., & Robling, M. (2018). Establishing the international prevalence of self-reported child maltreatment: a systematic review by maltreatment type and gender. BMC Public Health 18(1), 1164.
- Rezey, M. & DiMeglio, M. (2024). What is known about the magnitude, trend, and risk for child sexual abuse and the commercial sexual exploitation of children in the United States? Journal of Child Sexual Abuse 33(6), 691-713.
- Friedman, M. S., Marshal, M. P., Guadamuz, T. E., Wei, C., Wong, C. F., Saewyc, E. M., & Stall, R. (2011). A meta-analysis of disparities in childhood sexual abuse, parental physical abuse, and peer victimization among sexual minority and sexual nonminority individuals. American Journal of Public Health, 101(8), e1-1525
- Jones, L., Bellis, M. A., Wood, S., Hughes, K., Mc.Coy, E., Eckley, L., Bates, G., Mikton, C., Shakespeare, T., & Officer, A. (2012). Prevalence and risk of violence against children with disabilities: A systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies. The Lancet 380(9845), 899-907.
- Helton, J., Gochez-Kerr, T., & Gruber, E. (2017). Sexual abuse of children with learning disabilities. Child Maltreatment, 23(2), 157-165.
- U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Children’s Bureau. (2024). Child Maltreatment 2023.
- Massachusetts Legislative Task Force on the Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse (2022). Overview of the Research on Children and Adolescents Engaging in Problematic Sexual Behavior.
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