Resources for Victims of Child Sexual Abuse

To obtain help for a victim of child sexual abuse:

Stop It Now

Helps protect children from sexual abuse through help services, prevention advocacy and education, and technical assistance and training.

StopItNow.org

Help Line: 1-888-PREVENT

RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network)

The largest anti-sexual violence organization in the U.S.; created and operates the National Sexual Assault Hotline

Online.Rainn.org

1-800-656-HOPE

National Child Abuse Hotline

A 24/7 hotline dedicated to the prevention of child abuse

1-800-4-A-CHILD

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

International Domestic Violence Resource Guide

Phone numbers and helpful information for victims of domestic abuse in a variety of countries

National Children’s Alliance

NationalChildrensAlliance.org

Empowering local communities to serve child victims of abuse.

The National Center for Victims of Crime

VictimsOfCrime.org

Helpline: 1-800-FYI-CALL or 1-800-211-7996

For help finding local assistance:

http://victimsofcrime.org/help-for-crime-victims//find-local-assistance—connect-directory

National Sexual Violence Resource Center

NSVRC.org

1-877-739-3895 (TTY Hotline: 1-717-909-0715)

Does not provide crisis counseling but can provide referrals.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Addiction

https://www.floridarehab.com/resources/ptsd/

Provides information and resources for dealing with PTSD

Child Sexual Abuse Statistics

Because many victims never report abuse, it’s hard to quantify how often child sexual abuse occurs, but here are some statistics:

* Most professionals in the field use rates that vary from 8% to 20%. The median age for reported abuse is nine years old.

(Children’s Assessment Center)

* Adult retrospective studies show that one in four women and one in six men were sexually abused before the age of 18.

(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2006)

* Another source says that as many as one in three girls and one in seven boys will be sexually abused at some point in their childhood.

(Briere, J., Eliot, D.M. Prevalence and Psychological Sequence of Self-Reported Childhood Physical and Sexual Abuse in General Population: Child Abuse and Neglect)

* The primary reason that the public is not sufficiently aware of child sexual abuse as a problem is that 73% of child victims do not tell anyone about the abuse for at least a year. 45% of victims do not tell anyone for at least five years. Some never disclose.

(Smith et al., 2000; Broman-Fulks et al., 2007)

*Youths have higher rates of sexual assault victimization than adults. In 2000, the sexual assault victimization rate for youths 12 to 17 was 2.3 times higher than for adults.

(U.S. Dept. of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2000)

Melody Maysonet

Melody Maysonet has been an English teacher, editor, columnist, and ghostwriter. A self-proclaimed geek, she loves reading fantasy, but prefers writing edgy, real-world fiction—as evidenced by her first novel, A WORK OF ART (Simon Pulse), which received a Starred Review from Kirkus, won the 2016 Hoffer Award for best fiction, and was named a Best Book of 2015 by YA Books Central.

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