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Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) is defined as the involvement of a child (ages 0–17 years old) in sexual activity to provide sexual gratification or financial benefit to the perpetrator. This includes both touching and non-touching behaviors.
Examples of child sexual abuse include contact for sexual purposes, molestation, statutory rape, trafficking, sexually explicit images, exposure, incest, or other sexually exploitive activities.Child sexual abuse occurs in all populations—it affects child in all socioeconomic levels, across all racial, ethnic, and cultural groups, and in both rural and urban areas.
Preventing child sexual abuse requires a collective effort to further understand the causes of child sexual abuse and approaches to tackle it. The CDC provides a number of strategies (STOP SV) that aid in reducing or preventing sexual violence. The strategies are promoting social norms that protect against sexual violence, teaching skills to prevent sexual violence, providing opportunities to empower and support girls and women, creating protective environments, and supporting victims/survivors to less harm.
Additionally, the CDC provides other strategies to prevent child abuse and neglect, these include strengthening economic support to families, providing quality care and education early in life, enhancing parenting skills to promote healthy child development, and intervening to lessen immediate and long-term harms. See more
Research from the Adverse Childhood Experience Study and subsequent sources document the devastating impact of child sexual abuse on children, dramatically increasing their risks for future health and developmental challenges.
Child sexual abuse can harm a child’s physical health through unwanted/unplanned pregnancies, physical injuries, long-term chronic medical conditions and mental health leading to issues like depression and PTSD.
Additionally, victims of child sexual abuse may experience social/behavioral consequences like substance abuse, risky sexual behaviors, and suicide.
Our programs and affiliates network is focused on preventing child physical abuse through several practical solutions for creating the conditions for safe, stable, and nurturing relationships and environments for all children, families, and communities.