NCJ Number
185215
Journal
Violence Against Women Volume: 6 Issue: 10 Dated: October 2000 Pages: 1137-1169
Date Published
October 2000
Length
33 pages
Annotation
This is a study of perpetrator characteristics in cases of extrafamilial child sexual abuse and implications for prevention.
Abstract
This study examined the ability of extrafamilial sexual abuse categorization schemes previously derived by qualitative methods to predict characteristics of the abuse of female children. It also examined the prognostic ability of the emergent categorization scheme to predict differential risk of abuse based on age of the child. The study sample comprised 360 incidents of extrafamilial sexual abuse in Diana Russell’s (1983) community prevalence study of female child sexual abuse. Findings highlight the pervasiveness of the threat of extrafamilial sexual abuse to female children. Findings also suggest that girls, even when divided by age, simply cannot be prepared for the many situations, dynamics and locations of potential abuse. Examination of the risk of being abused must move beyond the individual or family and into the purview of society as a whole. The focus on societal-level influences on child sexual abuse must inform both research and policy and the professional response to extrafamilial abuse must increase. Tables, figure, notes, references