Child Sexual Abuse

Sexual abuse can be physical, verbal or emotional in nature. It can include non-contact and contact activities and can involve a range of behaviours, including but not limited to: 

• Contact abuse: Sexual acts, penetrative or non-penetrative, with a child or young person under the age of consent 

• Coercion: Forcing a child to strip or masturbate 

• Inappropriate touch: Inappropriate touching of a child, whether clothed or unclothed 

• Exposure: Engaging in any kind of sexual activity in front of a child, including watching pornography 

• Image-based abuse: Taking, downloading, viewing or distributing sexual images of children 

• Possession: Possessing images or videos of child sexual abuse 

• Online exploitation: Encouraging a child to perform sexual acts in front of a webcam or any recording device 

• Grooming: Grooming a child (or their parent, carer or own colleagues) 

More than 1 in 4 Australians have experienced child sexual abuse – 1 in 3 Australian girls and almost 1 in 5 Australian boys (1).

All children are vulnerable to sexual abuse, regardless of their background or family circumstances. Whilst it is a crime that knows no physical, financial, socioeconomic, geographic, cultural, or gender boundaries, in more than half (52%) of child sexual abuse cases, the onset of abuse is from the ages of 0 to 8 (2). It is for this reason that beginning personal safety education from early childhood is so important in the fight against child sexual abuse.

• Whilst both men and women can be child sex offenders, statistically, offenders are most likely to be male.
• Between 2-12% of child sexual abuse crimes are committed by women (3).
• 79% of child sexual abuse victims are abused by someone known to them; a relative, friend, acquaintance, or neighbour (1).
• 13% of child sexual abuse is perpetrated by young people aged under 18 who are known to the victim (1).

The signs of sexual abuse can vary depending on the child’s developmental stage and the circumstances of the abuse, such as how frequent the abuse is, who is inflicting the abuse, and what kind of abuse is happening.

The experience of child sexual abuse can change the way children and young people understand their world, the people in it and where they belong. After sexual abuse, a child or young person’s understanding of themselves and the world can become distorted, and create mistrust, fear, and betrayal. Their personality and behaviours may change noticeably from what they were prior to the sexual abuse. More on this topic can be found further down this page.

A key step in protecting your child from sexual abuse is understanding the crime. If you are reading this, then you are off to a good start! Supporting your child in their personal safety education is also key.

The lessons your child learns from the Ditto program can be discussed and reinforced at home, using Ditto’s Keep Safe Adventure Activity Booklet. Helping your child understand and identify when something doesn’t feel right or safe, and that they can talk to a trusted adult about this without fear of consequences, is a vital step in protecting them against sexual harm.