Myths & Facts About Child Sexual Abuse
“Only girls are vulnerable to abuse”
Fact: Statistics show otherwise. The 2007 survey by the Ministry of Women and Child Welfare, GOI, reported that 53.22% of the children in the study had been sexually abused. Of this, the number of boys abused was more than half (52.94%).
“The abuser is usually a stranger”
Fact: Sexual Abuse is most often committed by someone the child knows, and who the family trusts. Intra-familial abuse is more common than abuse by a stranger or an outsider.
“People who abuse look sleazy or like criminals”
Fact: People who sexually abuse children not appear any different to any of us. They live dual lives and hide behind such crimes because they look and act like everyone else. They may be relatives, family friends, neighbours, coaches, teachers, house help, drivers or an older friend and in fact, can be anyone, irrespective of their roles or profession You can better protect the child from sexual abuse by observing how the child behaves and responds to certain people/adults, rather than by what the offender looks like.
“Only men abuse”
Fact: Women can be abusers too, although less commonly than men. Perpetrators of abuse can also be children themselves.
“This only happens in Western countries, or slums/low-income families”
Fact: Reports suggest that there has been an 11% rise in crimes against children in 2015- 2016.