OBJECTIVE: The study was designed to ascertain the prevalence and
nature of sexual abuse in childhood for a community sample of
women. METHOD: A two-stage design, using questionnaires and
face-to-face interviews, was employed, providing information on
prevalence rates, types of abuse, ages of victims, relationship to the
abuser, and cohort effects. RESULTS: Nearly one woman in three
reported having one or more unwanted sexual experiences before age 16
years. A significant number of these experiences (70%) involved
genital contact or more severe abuse, and 12% of those abused were
subjected to sexual intercourse. The abusers were usually known to the
victim, being family members in 38.3% of cases and acquaintances in
another 46.3%. Stranger abuse accounted for 15% of all abuse
experiences. Most of the abusers were young men, disclosure of the
abuse was infrequent, and only 7% of all abuse was ever officially
reported. Prevalence rates showed no urban/rural differences, no
cohort effect with subject age, and no age differences in disclosure
rates. CONCLUSIONS: Child sexual abuse is common, serious,
infrequently reported, and the abuser is usually known to the
child. Preadolescent girls are at greatest risk.