Healthcare professionals - supporting children and young people who may have experienced child sexual abuse: clinical pathway

Appendix C – Prevalence of Child Sexual Abuse

It is difficult to estimate the prevalence of child sexual abuse in Scotland for a number of reasons. Children may not disclose abuse until many years after it took place. Patterns of recording and responding to abuse have changed over time. Studies undertaken have used varying definitions and methods, making comparisons difficult between countries and over time.

The prevalence of reported abuse is higher in self-reported surveys than in reports by health, police or social work services.

The Crime Survey for England and Wales (2020)^[65] estimated that 7.5% of adults aged 18 to 74 years experienced sexual abuse before the age of 16 years; this includes both adult and child perpetrators. It also reported that around 4 in 10 adults (36%) who were sexually abused before the age of 16 years experienced more than one of emotional abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, or witnessing domestic violence or abuse. This proportion is higher for women than men (39% compared with 26%). The Scottish Crime and Justice Survey^[66] asks people about experiences they have had since the age of 16 so there are not comparable figures available for Scotland.

The scoping report published in 2019 by the CSA Centre of Expertise^[67] summarises the variations in prevalence data for England and Wales and suggests that some 15% of girls/young women and 5% of boys/young men experience some form of sexual abuse before the age of 16, including abuse by adults and peers.

Recorded crime statistics in Scotland 2019-2020 indicate that at least 40% of the 13,364 sexual crimes recorded in 2019-2020 by the police related to a victim under the age of 18. This proportion is similar to the previous year. They also show an increase in online child sexual abuse, which includes grooming and exploitation^[68].