Adult Survivors Of Incest And Sexual Abuse

10 Pages 2482 Words

ized in childhood at the same rates as Caucasians. They report being more severely abused with greater use of force. African American girls are more often abused by relatives other than their fathers; often the offender is an uncle ("The Long-Term Effects of Incestuous Abuse: A Comparison of African American and White American Victims," Diana Russell, et al. Lasting Effects of Child Sexual Abuse, ed. By Gail E. Wyatt, Sage Publications, 1988).
• 66% of all prostitutes were sexually abused as children. 66% of sexually abused prostitutes were abused by fathers, step-fathers or foster fathers. ("Treatment of Prostitution Victims of Sexual Abuse," Mimi Silbert, Victims of Sexual Aggression, ed. By Irving Stuart and Joanne Greer, Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1984).
• 68% of incest incidents take place in the victims home (Russell, 1986).
• Men abuse children with greater frequency than women do. 97% of sexual abuse of girls and 80% of sexual abuse of boys is committed by men (Courtois, 1988). (http://www.twu.edu/o-sl/counseling/SH055.html)

• Myth: Child sexual abuse is a rare occurrence.
• Fact: Unfortunately, incest and child sexual abuse are very common. One out of four females and one out of seven to one out of ten males will be sexually abused by the time they are 18.
• Myth: Most children are attacked by a stranger.
• Fact: Eighty percent of children will be abused by someone they know. The most common perpetrator is the father or stepfather, followed in frequency by other male relatives.
• Myth: Child sexual abuse perpetrators look suspicious.
• Fact: Most child sexual abusers cannot be distinguished from other people by appearance. They are often seen as upstanding citizens by others. As many as 80% were abused as children themselves.
• Myth: Women sexually abuse children as frequently as men.
• Fact: Although a woman's role as primary caretaker for children offers her more opportunity to abuse...