Guest post by: The CAC
Sept. 2012
Child sexual abuse is a serious problem in our world today. As many as one in four girls and one in six boys will be sexually abused by the time they reach adulthood[1]. Furthermore, domestic violence has been shown to be prevalent in homes where child sexual abuse occurs. Domestic violence was reported in approximately 40 percent of child sexual abuse cases. According to the Adverse Childhood Experiences Study, child sexual and physical abuse as well as other adverse childhood experiences, such as domestic violence, place an individual at an increased risk for developing a wide range of physical, psychological, and emotional disorders.[2]
The Children’s Advocacy Center of North and Northwest Cook County is a non-for-profit agency that offers free services to children and families that have experienced the devastating effects of child sexual abuse. The Children’s Advocacy Center provides a safe and child-friendly environment where children and families come to receive services such as: child-sensitive interviews, abuse-centered therapy, medical advocacy, and court advocacy. To learn more about the Children’s Advocacy Center and the services offered, visit our Web site at: www.cachelps.org, like our page on facebook: www.facebook.com/CACNW, or follow us on twitter: twitter.com/ChildrensAdv.
Knowing child sexual abuse is prevalent in our society and that it has a devastating impact on the children who endure it, whose responsibility is it to stop the abuse? Is it the community’s responsibility? The government’s responsibility? Who’s?
[1] Finkelhor, D., Hotaling, G., Lewis, I.A., & Smith, C. (1990). Sexual abuse in a national survey of adult men and women: Prevalence, characteristics, and risk factors. Child Abuse and Neglect, 14(1), 19-28.
[2] Goddard, C. & Hillard, P. (1993) Child sexual abuse: Assault in a violent context. Australian
Journal of Social Issues, 28(1), 20-33.
