Child sexual abuse is one topic that researchers have overlooked for a long time and among the most under-researched until several decades in recent times that it has seen increasing interest. Researchers have come up with various theories for studying the issue of sexual abuse in children, and situational theories have become more prevalent in observing and reporting studies on the risk and protective factors that are directly related to child sexual abuse. Situational theories have become essential in understanding the correlation between the risk factors and their effect on child sexual abuse, as well as the protective ones that can be used to take the necessary intervention measures for the crisis in question (Mathews & Collin-Vézina, 2019). The results that researchers get in such studies are necessary in answering the essential questions related to child sexual abuse, such as where, how, and when child sexual abuse takes place, who the perpetrator is, what factors facilitate such crimes, and also what factors seem to protect the crime from taking place. According to recent studies, several factors always align for child sexual abuse crimes to take place, which could be used to explain the risk and protective factors for child sexual abuse. These factors primarily include the availability of a vulnerable victim, a potentially motivated perpetrator and the absence of a guardian capable of child protection, and they are affected by time and space.
Age as a Risk Factor for Child Sexual Abuse
In the context of child sexual abuse, results analysed by various research studies showed that age has a direct correlation with the risk of a child falling victim to sexual abuse. Age, therefore, becomes an essential factor to consider because it dictates the level of exposure that a child has to a potential sexual offender, which then dictates the level of risk that a child exhibits. The age of children contributes to the level of lifestyle that they have, which determines the level of risk from the youngest to the eldest age for children, most likely from 1-18 years. Age as a risk factor for child sexual abuse determines children’s daily routines; it is, therefore, true that sexual abuse in children becomes more likely to be shaped by routines, a finding that has remained consistent in different research studies (McElvaney et al., 2020). According to the results gathered in this study, younger children generally showed to be at a lesser risk of falling victim to child sexual abuse than their elder counterparts in their teenage years, who were significantly likely to become victimised.
Younger Children’s Lifestyle and the Correlation It Has with Risks of Child Sexual Abuse
Younger children, approximately between the ages of 1-6 years, have the lowest percentage in the potentiality of child sexual victimisation, at around 11% in the population of sexually abused children in the United Kingdom. Children in this age bracket often experience the most minor instances of child sexual abuse because they are always supervised by their parents or caretakers to a higher degree than other older children (McElvaney et al., 2020). Therefore, most studies on child sexual abuse agree with the argument that potential child sexual abuse perpetrators, at least instantly, do not actively plot to sexually abuse children directly. Instead, researchers say that the perpetrators most likely take advantage of the opportunities that arise from the daily routines of the vulnerable children, mainly where caregivers’ duties come in (McElvaney et al., 2020). In most cases, parents and caregivers are often in close proximity to these children and spend the longest time of the day in the vicinity of the home.
It is true that most children between the ages of 1 and 6 years who become sexually victimised, as studies have consistently observed, are most likely abused by a person who is closely related to them, in what is known as “familial child sexual abuse.” As noted earlier, younger children are not always far away from their parents and guardians for extended periods, and therefore, potential child sexual offenders, especially extra-familial perpetrators, have lesser chances of taking advantage of in the context of the children’s daily routines (McElvaney et al., 2020). This observation confirms, as posited by various studies that younger children are at a lower risk of non-familial sexual abuse than their older counterparts. Younger children who are victims of sexual abuse seem to be abused during the late mornings and early afternoons.
Middle-Aged Children’s Age in Relation to Risks of Child Sexual Abuse
Middle-aged children in this context collectively include children between the ages of 7 and 12 years, an age group which is characterised by schooling during the day and engaging in recreational activities with other age mates in the evenings after school. As these children inherit the new routine of going to school, they become less close to their parents and guardians, which also increases at home because they are probably outside playing with other children while out of school, although in close proximities with their homesteads (McElvaney et al., 2020). Additionally, the level of parental and caretakers’ supervision is also reduced in this period, which increases their vulnerability to some degree. According to the research findings that this study analysed, the prevalence of child sexual abuse in children of middle age was approximately 21% of the total number of cases reported involving sexual abuse of children younger than 18 years.
Notably, several research studies consistently agree through empirical evidence that the risk of children falling victim to child sexual abuse increases with age. Middle-aged children are also more likely to be sexually abused by familial perpetrators, although non-familial offenders seem to increase significantly in this age group compared to those involved in children younger than seven years. Most cases of sexual abuse are also reported to take place in the afternoon or in early evening hours when the children are out of school as they are usually outside playing recreational games, and most likely take place in the homestead and organisational settings. Child sexual abusers who abuse children in this age group are mostly not likely to be abused by a person who at least knows them, including a family friend or a neighbour, and very unlikely to be a total stranger (McElvaney et al., 2020).
Age and Risk Factors of Child Sexual Abuse Related to Older Children in Teenage and Adolescence
This age group, according to this study, consisted of children between the ages of 13 and 18. Children in this group are the oldest in the pool of children that the study investigated, and results showed that this group has the highest rate of child sexual abuse cases, approximately 67% (McElvaney et al., 2020). This observation concludes that it is true that age is a substantial and significant risk factor in child sexual abuse. According to research on the situational theory in relation to age and routine, which was found to be the driving factor for vulnerability, it is true that children in their teenage years and adolescence tend to spend more time outside of the home than their younger counterparts. Notably, these children are in their upper middle and high school studies, and the level of parents’ and caretakers’ attention on them is significantly low (McElvaney et al., 2020). Therefore, the degree of supervision of these children is tremendously low as they tend to enjoy a considerably high degree of autonomy and independence, especially outside of school.
In older children, perpetrators of sexual abuse tend to have more time, space and opportunity to pursue their potential victim without much concern of time and space. Researchers conclude that these children also tend to be more outgoing and explore new things and, therefore, more likely to attend events such as parties, sports and other recreational activities associated with adolescence. Therefore, the risk of falling victim to sexual abuse is significantly higher in this age group, as all the opportunities that motivated perpetrators seem to exploit children become almost achievable quickly (McElvaney et al., 2020). Research has also shown that children in their teenage and adolescence get sexually abused mostly in the late evenings and during the nights, and the setting of the abuse is also most likely to be in a friends’ houses during sleepovers, whereby perpetrators are also most likely to be non-familial.
Gender as a Risk Factor for Child Sexual Abuse
Although the information available regarding this subject is significantly limited, studies that have managed to review the cases of child sexual abuse have highlighted gender as a risk factor that influences victimisation. Through integration of various findings, it is true that girls below the age of 18 and below are more likely almost 3 times to be sexually abused. In most cases involving convicted sexual offenders, reports shows that penetrative sexual contact takes place more than other forms of sex, and girls particularly fall significantly at a higher vulnerability to such acts and therefore at a higher risk. This conclusion is further supported by findings that girls overwhelmingly get sexually victimised in the first instances of sexual contact (Mennen, 1993). First contact is essential factor because it sets course for the subsequent victimisation. It is argued by researchers than girl fall more victim than boys to sexual abuse by male perpetrators overwhelmingly because of the structural foundation of the society, whereby females are often perceived in sexual objectivity than men are, which is supported by the fact that most sexual offenders are male. Nevertheless, some studies says that boys in their teenage seem to be victimised more than girls, but most of these instances remain largely underreported, and overlooked, although more information is required to actually support the argument.
Prior Experiences with Abuse and Victimisation for Children
Children who have past experiences with different types of abuses, notably sexual, physical, and emotional according to the results seem to be at a greater risk of falling victim to child sexual abuse. Notably, stability in the developmental stages of children is an essential element of growth, and therefore negative experiences from abuse tend to increase the likelihood of more abuse, sexual exploitation being a major risk (Mennen, 1993). Researchers argue that preventing the first instances of sexual abuse in children which takes place mostly between the middle ages of children is an essential aspect which parents and guardians should be concerned with, because its occurrence promotes more likelihood of subsequent abuses. First encounter with sexual abuse for a child is a sign of insufficient support from either parents or caretakers who are more likely to be incapable of providing safety to their children. Children who have been abused sexually at least once are at a greater risk of victimisation than those who have no prior experience.
Similarly, results showed that children who have experienced prior physical abuse such as assaults and attempted or actual kidnapping tend to be at a higher risk of being sexually abused. These prior negative experiences in children often come as a result of poor parenting, including acts of child neglect and using corporal punishment as a disciplinary method (Palusci & Ilardi, 2020). These instances of prior child abuse as consistently reported by various research findings create insecurity to children, which causes instability such that they are unable to communicate properly or handle aggression appropriately increasing their vulnerability and therefore the risk of becoming sexually abused increases. The risk for child sexual abuse is reported to even increase significantly if the prior forms of abuse that a child had experienced was left unresolved.
Dysfunctional Families Potentially Increases the Risk of Child Sexual Abuse
Family structure and functionality is an essential factor in child development, and how much a family is deemed functional by various parameters dictates the level of risk that a child has to child sexual abuse. The relationship between children and parents is one of the most prominent factors in regard to child sexual abuse. The results on the quality of parent-child relationship concluded that children who have a high quality relationship with their parents are at a lower risk of sexual abuse than their counterparts who have a poor relationship (Mathews & Collin-Vézina, 2019). Poor relationship translates to child neglect which has been proven by various research findings to be one of the top factors that increases the risk to child sexual abuse. Dysfunctional families are also associated with single-parenthood, blended families and families that experiences marital challenges such as violence and drug abuse among others (Winters et al., 2020). Children who come from such families that have little or no cohesion become vulnerable because they are more likely to suffer the consequences of familial challenges that are often associated with instability. Children from dysfunctional families suffer mental health issues which profoundly leave them vulnerable to motivated perpetrators of child sexual abuse.
Perpetrators’ Characteristics as Risk Factors for Child Sexual Abuse
Child sexual abuse offender who have already been identified either by attempting to abuse or actually abusing a child sexually exhibit various character traits that serve as markers of potential high risk tendencies of abusing other children. Researchers consistently reported that child sexual abuse perpetrators who already abused or attempted to abuse a child at least once regardless of whether they were reported or not have potential motivation for subsequent abuse (Turner et al., 2016). From the results, perpetrators proved to be less educated, unemployed or in blue collar jobs. Additionally, perpetrators consistently exhibit various psychological issues which increases the likelihood of them becoming even more abusive to children. They have high needs for sexual and emotional satisfaction, which may have developed while they were young, as studies also points out that children who get sexually or physically abused during their developmental stages have a high likelihood of becoming sexual abuser themselves in the future. Following various psychiatric interventions, child sexual abusers present characteristics of pedophilia tendencies, which could be used as markers for potential child sexual abusing capabilities (Turner et al., 2016).
Protective Factors for Child Sexual Abuse
Good Family Cohesion
Family cohesion is one of the most important factors that dictate safety of children during their developmental stages. Cohesion in this context is used to refer to the level of closeness that a family has concerning the relationship between parents themselves first, and then between them and their children. According to the results obtained from the study, two natural parents who were found to be satisfied with their relationship with one another and their children were found to have children at the lowest risk of falling victim to sexual abuse. Children from these families are generally happy and behave relatively better than other children, including having higher class performances than their counterparts from problematic families (Russell et al., 2020). Therefore, it is essential for families to work on their cohesion and functionality, which is one of the most significant protective factors for child sexual abuse.
Parents Education, Career, and Social Economic Status
Results found out that parents who had completed more school, and those who were at least employed and more so in a white collar job had their children at the lowest risk of child sexual abuse. Educated parents who earn higher incomes are less likely to neglect their children, which is among the top risk factors for child sexual abuse. The factors indicated translate to the socio-economic status of the parent, and those who scored high generally were capable of protecting their children more than their counterparts who had less (Russell et al., 2020). Notably, socio-economics affects various sphere of life for families, and by comparing the families that reported a high and a low score in this criteria showed significant difference. Good education, career and general financial stability is one of the strongest protective factors for child sexual abuse, because such families are able to afford a better quality lifestyle in descent neighborhoods where crime rates and delinquency is limited (Russell et al., 2020).
Limitations of the Study
Nevertheless, this study was limited following various reasons which makes it necessary for more comprehensive research on the topic of child sexual abuse in concern to its risk and protective factors. Notably, one of the significant limitations is that the reports that were available for analysis contained limited information on the topic, considerably because the topic has not received widespread popularity for many decades, and therefore lit,tle research has been conducted. For the research studies that offered the information for this study, they consistently focused more on the statistical significance of the findings more than they did on measuring the effect sizes. It is true that sometimes biases can result from over reliance on statistical data without effectively focusing on the practical significance that effect sizes illustrate. Most conclusions were reached from interpreting the statistical comparison between two groups in each case, including the children who were sexually abused and the ones who were not, parents who had their children sexually abused and those who did not, and finally people who were offenders and non-offenders.
Therefore, it might be unclear to confidently make various assertions with limited information such as which group and what factor shows a particular correlation with child sexual abuse to either risk or protection. For example during the processes of data collection for available research that this study relied on, it might lead to significant inaccuracies if the sample sizes were not selected appropriately, which could have been either amplified or underplayed. In any of the cases named, there would be significant discrepancies between what is the actual prevalence of child sexual abuse and its underlying issues related to risk and protective factors and the ones reported from the findings. Therefore, more studies that would include a deeper dive into the measurement of effect sizes more efficiently are necessary, which will make conclusions more evidence based, rather than one influenced by statistics only.
Implications for the Study and Recommendations for Further Research
Since there only exist little research concerning Child Sexual Abuse and its relationship with the risk and protective factors that affect the issue, this research is essential as it integrates the most credible reports to illustrate the prevalence of the issue which remains largely unknown to many people to date. It is also true that issues related with child sexual abuse remain largely unreported due to fear of social stigma and vulnerability of children, and therefore the topic continues to be overlooked, and that is exactly what this study aims at countering. At least the, conclusions that this paper managed to formulate based on systematic reviewing can be used as a staging ground for more comprehensive research in the future as a reference point.
However, more research should be conducted with more specific sample sizes and in increased scope across the United Kingdom to extensively learn about the prevalence of child sexual abuse, the risk factors involved with it and the protective factors as well. Based on the fact that most cases of child sexual abuse remain unreported and generally unknown to the public, researchers should use more practical methods of collecting data and conducting community surveys across the United Kingdom rather than relying on the information that is provided by the child protection and related agencies which seem to be limited. Research in the future should focus on the reasons why child sexual abuse cases in the United Kingdom are underreported and come up with ways that could facilitate more reporting and intervention.
References
Mathews, B., & Collin-Vézina, D. (2019). Child sexual abuse: Toward a conceptual model and definition. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 20(2), 131-148. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838017738726
McElvaney, R., Moore, K., O’Reilly, K., Turner, R., Walsh, B., & Guerin, S. (2020). Child sexual abuse disclosures: Does age make a difference? Child abuse & neglect, 99, 104121. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2019.104121
Mennen, F. E. (1993). Evaluation of risk factors in childhood sexual abuse. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 32(5), 934-939. https://doi.org/10.1097/00004583-199309000-00007
Palusci, V. J., & Ilardi, M. (2020). Risk factors and services to reduce child sexual abuse recurrence. Child maltreatment, 25(1), 106-116. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077559519848489
Russell, D., Higgins, D., & Posso, A. (2020). Preventing child sexual abuse: A systematic review of interventions and their efficacy in developing countries. Child abuse & neglect, 102, 104395. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2020.104395
Turner, D., Rettenberger, M., Yoon, D., Klein, V., Eher, R., & Briken, P. (2016). Risk assessment in child sexual abusers working with children. Sexual Abuse, 28(6), 572-596. https://doi.org/10.1177/1079063214564390
Winters, G. M., Colombino, N., Schaaf, S., Laake, A. L., Jeglic, E. L., & Calkins, C. (2020). Why do child sexual abuse victims not tell anyone about their abuse? An exploration of factors that prevent and promote disclosure. Behavioral Sciences & the Law, 38(6), 586-611. https://doi.org/10.1002/bsl.2492
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