NCJ Number
220878
Journal
Child Abuse and Neglect: The International Journal Volume: 31 Issue: 9 Dated: September 2007 Pages: 935-945
Date Published
September 2007
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This study outlined child sexual abuse (CSA) among women in New Zealand.
Abstract
The overall prevalence rates for CSA were 23.5 percent for women from the urban region, and 28.2 percent for women from the rural region. In both urban and rural regions, Maori women more frequently reported experiences of CSA than women from European and other ethnic groups; CSA occurs commonly within the population of New Zealand women and the Maori are overrepresented as victims. The median age of onset of the abuse was 9 years old, and the median estimated age of the abuser was 30 years old. Half of those who experienced CSA reported that it occurred once or twice, 27 percent reported it occurred a few times, and 23 percent reported it occurred multiple times. Sole perpetrators were involved in 83 percent of cases. The majority of cases were perpetrated by a family member most frequently male. Compared with non-victims, victims of CSA were twice as likely to experience later intimate partner violence. The scale of the problem and its associations with later adverse consequences suggest the need for widespread implementation of primary prevention efforts as well as for appropriate followup support for victims. The survey was administered by the School of Population Health at the University of Auckland as part of the New Zealand Violence Against Women Study to a random sample of 2,855 women aged 18 to 64 years old in two regions in New Zealand: Auckland the largest city in which 26.8 percent of the total New Zealand population of women aged 15 to 64 reside, and north Waikato, a rural region in which 2.8 percent of the total population of women were aged 15 to 64. Face to face interviews with one randomly selected woman from each household were conducted. Tables, references