scholarly journals Child sexual abuse: increasing pandemic incidence

2021 ◽  
pp. 127-129
Author(s):  
Fabian Danilo Unigarro Ramirez ◽  
Modesto Leite Rolim Neto

Introduction: The increase of violence against children is characterized as a serious public health problem.  The media has continuously reported cases of: rape perpetrated against children, increased violence against this age group and alarming epidemiological data resulting from the isolation of the pandemic by SARS-CoV-2. Methods: Studies were identified using large-circulation international journals found in two electronic databases: Scopus and Embase. Results: Cases of harassment, rape, manipulation of the child's genitals, oral, anal or genital penetration, pedophilia, exploitation, dissemination of erotic images of children in social networks, exhibitionism, masturbation, Voyeurism and incestuous abuse are classified as child sexual abuse. The numbers of legal abortions in child and adolescent victims of rape tends to increase a 100% taking into account the in the first cases of 2020. Conclusion: discussions for the implementation of public policies and healthcare for children victims of sexual abuse are important for prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and reintegration into the society, considering all the sequel that this vulnerable group acquires after the crime.

2000 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Nicole M. Coupe

AbstractSuicide is a Māori Public Health Issue. Suicide rates in Aotearoa/New Zealand are amongst the highest in OECD countries in the 15-24 year age group and second only to Hungary in other age groups (WHO, 1996; Disley & Coggan, 1996). Suicide is the leading cause of death for young people under the age of 25 years in Aotearoa/New Zealand and a major public health problem (Coggan, 1997). Approximatel, 540 New Zealanders kill themselves each year (Rose, Hatcher, & Koelmeyer, 1999). The total Māori suicide rate (per 100 000) increased to 17.5 in 1997, compared to non-Māori (13.1), and the Māori youth suicide rate (33.9) far exceeded the equivalent non-Māori rate (24.3), reflecting the disparity between Māori and non-Māori (Ministry of Health, 1997). This paper aims to present epidemiological data on Māori suicide and then use the existing literature to discuss possible reasons for the high Māori rate.


2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arielle A. J. Scoglio ◽  
Shane W. Kraus ◽  
Jane Saczynski ◽  
Shehzad Jooma ◽  
Beth E. Molnar

Child sexual abuse (CSA) is a widespread public health problem in the United States. It has been associated with multiple long-term deleterious outcomes including revictimization in adulthood. This systematic review of 25 studies synthesizes research examining possible risk and protective factors that might explain the established link between CSA and future victimizations. Specific risk factors identified included co-occurring maltreatment in the home, risky sexual behavior (particularly in adolescence), post-traumatic stress disorder, emotion dysregulation, and other maladaptive coping strategies. Only one protective factor was identified: perceived parental care. The review also revealed considerable variability in definitions and measurement of both CSA and adult victimization, particularly in terms of how researchers conceptualized age. Many of the studies were limited in generalizability by including only college-age women. These findings have clinical and research implications. Public health interventions working to prevent revictimization among CSA survivors can utilize these findings when designing programs. For researchers, the results highlight the need for standardized definitions of both CSA and revictimization, for well-validated and consistent measurement, and for inclusion of additional population groups in future research.


2017 ◽  
Vol 40 (7) ◽  
pp. 973-991
Author(s):  
Arno Görgen ◽  
Heiner Fangerau

In 2010, Germany was shattered by a cluster of scandals concerning child sexual abuse in residential educational institutions. Previous attempts to broach the issue of child sexual abuse in institutions have repeatedly failed. This article investigates the historical preconditions that led to the immense awareness of child sexual abuse as raised by the media during this particular time. In order to create a holistic picture of the preconditions and awareness potential of the scandal, a database based on searching using a semantic field approach was created. The results were analyzed with respect to published discourses on child sexual abuse generally and in institutions in particular. Quantitatively, until the beginning of the 1990s, search results show a low but stable level of publication activity. This level increased strongly in the 1990s and, after a slight decrease in the new millennium, reached its peak in 2010. Qualitatively, the way violence against children in institutional settings was framed in the media coverage changed from emphasizing the motives of the perpetrator only (until the 1990s) to including more and more institutional and structural conditions that contribute to child sexual abuse.


2015 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Beatrice Castelli ◽  
Fiorella Festa ◽  
Maria Angela Di Sanzo ◽  
Andrea Guala ◽  
Alberto Pellai

Although many epidemiological studies defining child sexual abuse prevalence rates in many countries of the world are now available, Italy presents a lack of data regarding this specific issue. Only recently some attempts to define the epidemiology of this public health problem have been tried. Between 2003 and 2010, the Department of Public Health at University of Milan was in charge of one of the more important study of this kind in Italy, involving almost 3000 students aged 18 attending secondary schools in the City of Milan who filled out an anonymous questionnaire aiming at detecting their previous experiences of sexual victimization during childhood and adolescence. After this first edition, the study was replicated among students attending secondary schools in the city of Varese, in the area of Piedmont and in Basilicata (area of Lauria), using the same investigational model and questionnaire. This paper presents the main data collected through four different epidemiological studies using the same methodology and survey tool. Considering at least one of the five different forms of child sexual abuse surveyed (being exposed to pornography, being touched on private parts, being forced to masturbate an older person, being forced to perform oral sex, or being penetrated), the prevalence rate among our samples ranges between a minimum of 12.5% (Varese) and a maximum of 34.1% (Lauria). In Lauria the research reveals a higher prevalence rate of child sexual abuse, especially among the male population, for all typologies of abuse but being touched in their private parts. In all other geographical areas and for all typologies of abuse, there is always a higher prevalence among girls, with the only exception of abuse such as being exposed to pornographic materials.


2021 ◽  
pp. 166-178
Author(s):  
Emily F. Rothman

Child pornography, also called “child sexual abuse imagery” and “child exploitation material,” is a serious public health problem. This chapter reviews what qualifies as child pornography in the United States, its prevalence, how it is made and disseminated, who views it, and whether seeing it is associated with child sexual abuse perpetration. The topic of self-produced child pornography is also addressed. The chapter explains the historical link between anti-child pornography activism and anti-gay rights activism, and cautions public health professionals that, historically, outrage about child pornography has been used to galvanize people and further repressive agendas. The chapter argues that child pornography prevention strategies need to be carefully devised, in partnership with a wide range of stakeholders, and should be studied for effectiveness and unintended consequences.


2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 336-340
Author(s):  
Serbulent Kilic ◽  
Ayse Vural

Child sexual abuse is a public health problem worldwide. When a court carries out an investigation into cases of sexual abuse, they are likely to ask for a genital examination report from a forensic pathologist indicating whether they believe sexual abuse contact has occurred. Any suspicion about the sexual abuse of a child should be evaluated prudently. Nevertheless, the investigation of sexual abuse is sometimes undertaken according to misguided or unnecessary complaints from concerned parents suffering from mental illness.


2009 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 18-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ben Mathews ◽  
Chris Goddard ◽  
Bob Lonne ◽  
Stephanie Short ◽  
Freda Briggs

Thousands of Australian children are sexually abused every year, and the effects can be severe and long lasting. Not only is child sexual abuse a public health problem, but the acts inflicted are criminal offences. Child sexual abuse usually occurs in private, typically involving relationships featuring a massive imbalance in power and an abuse of that power. Those who inflict child sexual abuse seek to keep it secret, whether by threats or more subtle persuasion. As a method of responding to this phenomenon and in an effort to uncover cases of sexual abuse that otherwise would not come to light, governments in Australian States and Territories have enacted legislation requiring designated persons to report suspected child sexual abuse. With Western Australia’s new legislation having commenced on 1 January 2009, every Australian State and Territory government has now passed these laws, so that there is now, for the first time, an almost harmonious legislative approach across Australia to the reporting of child sexual abuse. Yet there remain differences in the State and Territory laws regarding who has to make reports, which cases of sexual abuse are required to be reported, and whether suspected future abuse must be reported. These differences indicate that further refinement of the laws is required.


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