Incidence and Prevalence of Intrafamilial and Extrafamilial Sexual Abuse of Female Children

• NCJ Number: 103882
• Journal: Child Abuse and Neglect Volume: 7 Issue: 2 Dated: special issue (1983) Pages: 133-146
• Author(s): D E H Russell
• Date Published: 1983
• Length: 13 pages
• Grant Number(s): 90-CA-831301; R01 MH 28960
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Health and Human Services; National Institute of Mental Health
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Data from a random sample of 930 adult women in San Francisco provide the soundest basis yet developed for estimating the prevalence of sexual abuse of female children by people inside and outside the family.

Abstract

The women were age 18 and over interviewed by carefully selected and trained female interviewers during the summer of 1978. Sixteen percent of the women reported at least one experience of intrafamilial sexual abuse before age 18, and 31 percent reported at least one experience of extrafamilial sexual abuse before age 18. Combining both categories showed that 38 percent had been abused before age 14. Only 2 percent of the intrafamilial cases and 6 percent of the extrafamilial cases were ever reported to the police. The abuse ranged from nonforceful kissing to forcible rape. These alarming prevalence rates point to the need for measures to address the problem and to develop more effective prevention strategies. Tables and 27 reference notes. (Author abstract modified)