NCJ Number
137065
Date Published
1992
Length
16 pages
Annotation
During 1987-89, 14 of the 96 HIV-positive children who were followed by the Duke Pediatric AIDS team were confirmed to have been sexually abused; this study describes the results of the evaluation of the sexually abused children, the circumstances associated with the abusive experiences, the perpetrators, and the data on the means by which the children had acquired HIV.
Abstract
Four of the children had acquired HIV from sexual abuse, and sexual abuse was a possible HIV source for six of the children. Transmission of HIV by child sexual abuse was the most frequent of the proven modes of acquiring HIV in this population. Twelve males who were related to an abused child were identified or suspected of being perpetrators. Three knew themselves to be HIV-positive at the time of an assault, and eight were aware that the child was HIV-positive at the time of an assault. There was no indication from any child that "safe sex" precautions had been observed. The sociological descriptors of the lives of the 14 abused children showed multiple known risk factors for sexual abuse, which also overlapped with known risk factors for or sequelae of the acquisition of HIV infection. These included drug abuse and alcoholism in the home, prostitution of a parent, lack of parenting, and chronic illness of the child. Preventive efforts should recognize that children as well as adults are at risk for sexually transmitted HIV infection. 5 tables and 43 references