Gender and age differences in prevalence and incidence of child sexual abuse in Croatia

Abstract

AimTo examine age and gender differences in the prevalence and incidence of child sexual abuse, the level of acquaintance of the child and the perpetrator, and correlations between experiencing family violence and sexual abuse on a nationally representative sample of 11, 13, and 16 years old children.MethodA probabilistic stratified cluster sample included 2.62% of the overall population of children aged 11 (n = 1223), 13 (n = 1188), and 16 (n = 1233) from 40 primary and 29 secondary schools. A modified version of ISPCAN Child Abuse Screening Tool – Children's Version was used. Five items referred to child sexual abuse (CSA) for all age groups.ResultsIn Croatia, 10.8% of children experienced some form of sexual abuse (4.8% to 16.5%, depending on the age group) during childhood and 7.7% of children experienced it during the previous year (3.7% to 11.1%, depending on the age group). Gender comparison showed no difference in the prevalence of contact sexual abuse, whereas more girls than boys experienced non-contact sexual abuse. Correlations between sexual abuse and physical and psychological abuse in the family were small, but significant.ConclusionComparisons with international studies show that Croatia is a country with a low prevalence of CSA. The fact that the majority of perpetrators of sexual abuse are male and female peers indicates the urgent need to address risks of sexual victimization in the health education of children.

An epidemiological overview of child sexual abuse

“…[15] In a study done in Croatia, 10.8% of the children reported as having faced some form of CSA during childhood. [16] Review conducted by Martin et al . reported that nearly 4% and 2% of girls and boys, respectively, experience CSA every year.…”

“…[346912] The overall prevalence is seen to be high among both gendersthough studies suggest girls are more prone than boys[346910111219203132], few studies report that there is no difference[16], while some others report males to be more prone. [18] In most (95%) of the cases, the perpetrator is known to the child (relatives, neighbors, step parents, highly trusted people).…”

Maltraitance envers les enfants déclarée par les jeunes eux-mêmes à l'occasion d'enquêtes représentatives de la population : revue systématique

“…Dans certaines cultures, le recours aux châtiments corporels est courant voire accepté d'un point de vue juridique 31,39 , tandis que dans d'autres cultures il s'agit d'un abus 109 . Dans certaines études, les comportements liés à l'abus sexuel n'ont pas été évalués car ce sujet a été jugé trop sensible sur le plan culturel 50,60 .…”

“…Être sensible aux réactions potentielles de rejet est essentiel, tout comme l'est un énoncé clair assurant l'anonymat et la confidentialité de l'enquête. Notre revue a toutefois permis de constater que certains chercheurs avaient inclus dans le formulaire de consentement une procédure de non-respect de la confidentialité au cas où un jeune aurait besoin d'une protection, procédure permettant de l'aiguiller automatiquement vers les autorités compétentes 50,75,81 , et cette stratégie n'a pas nui au taux de réponse 75,81 .…”

The Nature of Child Sexual Abuse among Boys and Girls Attending Saint Mary's Sexual Assault Referral Centre in Greater Manchester

“…Aside from reporting rates and patterns, there may be intrinsic differences between girls' and boys' experiences of CSA. While the majority of empirical CSA studies have focused on girls, there are a growing number of large‐scale community studies that have included boys and explored the influence of age and gender on children's experience of CSA (Aho et al, ; Ajdukovic et al, ; Indias Garcis and De Paúl Ochotorena, ; Radford et al, ; Sumner et al, ).…”