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Sexual assault and abuse is any type of sexual activity that you do not agree to, including: - Kennedy

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Sexual assault and abuse is any type of sexual activity that you do not agree to, including: - Kennedy

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inappropriate touching

vaginal, anal, or oral penetration

sexual intercourse that you say no to

rape

attempted rape

child molestation

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When a perpetrator intentionally harms a minor physically, psychologically, sexually, or by acts of neglect, the crime is known as child abuse. This page focuses specifically on child sexual abuse and the warning signs that this crime may be occurring.

What is child sexual abuse?

Child sexual abuse is a form of child abuse that includes sexual activity with a minor. A child cannot consent to any form of sexual activity, period. When a perpetrator engages with a child this way, they are committing a crime that can have lasting effects on the victim for years. Child sexual abuse does not need to include physical contact between a perpetrator and a child. Some forms of child sexual abuse include (but are not limited to):

Exhibitionism, or exposing oneself to a minor

Fondling

Intercourse

Masturbation in the presence of a minor or forcing the minor to masturbate

Obscene conversations, phone calls, text messages, or digital interaction

Producing, owning, or sharing pornographic images or movies of children

Sex of any kind with a minor, including vaginal, oral, or anal

Sex trafficking

Any other contact of a sexual nature that involves a minor.

What do perpetrators of child sexual abuse look like?

The majority of perpetrators are someone the child or family knows. As many as 93 percent of victims under the age of 18 know the abuser. A perpetrator does not have to be an adult to harm a child. They can have any relationship to the child including an older sibling or playmate, family member, a teacher, a coach or instructor, a caretaker, or the parent of another child. According to 1 in 6, "[Child] sexual abuse is the result of abusive behavior that takes advantage of a child's vulnerability and is in no way related to the sexual orientation of the abusive person."

Abusers can manipulate victims to stay quiet about the sexual abuse using a number of different tactics. Often an abuser will use their position of power over the victim to coerce or intimidate the child. They might tell the child that the activity is normal or that they enjoyed it. An abuser may make threats if the child refuses to participate or plans to tell another adult. Child sexual abuse is not only a physical violation; it is a violation of trust and/or authority.

How can I protect my child from sexual abuse?

A big part of protecting your child is about creating a dialogue. Read more to learn about creating this dialogue and keeping your child safe.

What are the warning signs?

Child sexual abuse isn't always easy to spot and some survivors may not exhibit obvious warning signs. The perpetrator could be someone you've known a long time or trust, which may make it even harder to notice. Consider some of the following common warning signs:

Physical signs:

Bleeding, bruises, or swelling in genital area

Bloody, torn, or stained underclothes

Difficulty walking or sitting

Frequent urinary or yeast infections

Pain, itching, or burning in genital area

Behavioral signs:

Changes in hygiene, such as refusing to bathe or bathing excessively

Develops phobias

Exhibits signs of depression or post-traumatic stress disorder

Expresses suicidal thoughts, especially in adolescents

Has trouble in school, such as absences or drops in grades

Inappropriate sexual knowledge or behaviors

Nightmares or bed-wetting

Overly protective and concerned for siblings, or assumes a caretaker role

Returns to regressive behaviors, such as thumb sucking

Runs away from home or school

Shrinks away or seems threatened by physical contact

Where can I get help?

If you want to talk to someone anonymously, call the National Child Abuse Hotline at 800.4.A.CHILD (422-4453), any time 24/7.

Learn more about being an adult survivor of childhood sexual abuse.

To speak with someone who is trained to help, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800.656.HOPE (4673) or chat online at online.rainn.org.

Want to learn more about healing after child sexual abuse? Access RAINN's eight-week learning series "Redefining Resilience" with topics such as understanding trauma, moving past shame, managing memories, and more.

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warning signs of sexual abuse in children

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how to tell if a child is being molested

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how to tell if a child is being sexually abused

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signs that a child has been molested by another child

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When a perpetrator intentionally harms a minor physically, psychologically, sexually, or by acts of neglect, the crime is known as child abuse.

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Article (Behavioral Signs of Abuse) - Donayah

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Article (Behavioral Signs of Abuse) - Donayah

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Changes in hygiene, such as refusing to bathe or bathing excessively

Develops phobias

Exhibits signs of depression or post-traumatic stress disorder

Expresses suicidal thoughts, especially in adolescents

Has trouble in school, such as absences or drops in grades

Inappropriate sexual knowledge or behaviors

Nightmares or bed-wetting

Overly protective and concerned for siblings, or assumes a caretaker role

Returns to regressive behaviors, such as thumb sucking

Runs away from home or school

Self-harms

Shrinks away or seems threatened by physical contact

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
When a perpetrator intentionally harms a minor physically, psychologically, sexually, or by acts of neglect, the crime is known as child abuse. This page focuses specifically on child sexual abuse and the warning signs that this crime may be occurring.

What is child sexual abuse?

Child sexual abuse is a form of child abuse that includes sexual activity with a minor. A child cannot consent to any form of sexual activity, period. When a perpetrator engages with a child this way, they are committing a crime that can have lasting effects on the victim for years. Child sexual abuse does not need to include physical contact between a perpetrator and a child. Some forms of child sexual abuse include (but are not limited to):

Exhibitionism, or exposing oneself to a minor

Fondling

Intercourse

Masturbation in the presence of a minor or forcing the minor to masturbate

Obscene conversations, phone calls, text messages, or digital interaction

Producing, owning, or sharing pornographic images or movies of children

Sex of any kind with a minor, including vaginal, oral, or anal

Sex trafficking

Any other contact of a sexual nature that involves a minor.

What do perpetrators of child sexual abuse look like?

The majority of perpetrators are someone the child or family knows. As many as 93 percent of victims under the age of 18 know the abuser. A perpetrator does not have to be an adult to harm a child. They can have any relationship to the child including an older sibling or playmate, family member, a teacher, a coach or instructor, a caretaker, or the parent of another child. According to 1 in 6, "[Child] sexual abuse is the result of abusive behavior that takes advantage of a child's vulnerability and is in no way related to the sexual orientation of the abusive person."

Abusers can manipulate victims to stay quiet about the sexual abuse using a number of different tactics. Often an abuser will use their position of power over the victim to coerce or intimidate the child. They might tell the child that the activity is normal or that they enjoyed it. An abuser may make threats if the child refuses to participate or plans to tell another adult. Child sexual abuse is not only a physical violation; it is a violation of trust and/or authority.

How can I protect my child from sexual abuse?

A big part of protecting your child is about creating a dialogue. Read more to learn about creating this dialogue and keeping your child safe.

What are the warning signs?

Child sexual abuse isn't always easy to spot and some survivors may not exhibit obvious warning signs. The perpetrator could be someone you've known a long time or trust, which may make it even harder to notice. Consider some of the following common warning signs:

Physical signs:

Bleeding, bruises, or swelling in genital area

Bloody, torn, or stained underclothes

Difficulty walking or sitting

Frequent urinary or yeast infections

Pain, itching, or burning in genital area

Behavioral signs:

Changes in hygiene, such as refusing to bathe or bathing excessively

Develops phobias

Exhibits signs of depression or post-traumatic stress disorder

Expresses suicidal thoughts, especially in adolescents

Has trouble in school, such as absences or drops in grades

Inappropriate sexual knowledge or behaviors

Nightmares or bed-wetting

Overly protective and concerned for siblings, or assumes a caretaker role

Returns to regressive behaviors, such as thumb sucking

Runs away from home or school

Shrinks away or seems threatened by physical contact

Where can I get help?

If you want to talk to someone anonymously, call the National Child Abuse Hotline at 800.4.A.CHILD (422-4453), any time 24/7.

Learn more about being an adult survivor of childhood sexual abuse.

To speak with someone who is trained to help, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800.656.HOPE (4673) or chat online at online.rainn.org.

Want to learn more about healing after child sexual abuse? Access RAINN's eight-week learning series "Redefining Resilience" with topics such as understanding trauma, moving past shame, managing memories, and more.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
warning signs of sexual abuse in children

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
how to tell if a child is being molested

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
how to tell if a child is being sexually abused

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
signs that a child has been molested by another child

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
When a perpetrator intentionally harms a minor physically, psychologically, sexually, or by acts of neglect, the crime is known as child abuse.

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Donayah- The Pain of Sexual Abuse Endured in Foster Care

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Donayah- The Pain of Sexual Abuse Endured in Foster Care

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Monique Confronts the Pain of Sexual Abuse Endured in Foster Care | Iyanla: Fix My Life | OWN

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In the United States more than 15 years after clerical abuse and its cover-up
over 10,000 local parishes, found that from 1990 to mid-2018, church officials received abuse reports concerning 382 priests.
625 children, most of them aged 15 or younger, were sexually abused by members of the Catholic clergy.

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Activists pulled down a statue of the Rev. Henryk Jankowski in Gdansk, Poland, in February. The priest, who died in 2010, has been accused of sexually abusing children. Credit Credit Bartek Sabela/Associated Press

WARSAW - The Roman Catholic Church in Poland released long-awaited statistics on Thursday that shed light on the sexual abuse of children by priests over the past 28 years.

The study, commissioned by the Episcopal Conference of Poland and pulling together data from over 10,000 local parishes, found that from 1990 to mid-2018, church officials received abuse reports concerning 382 priests.

During that time, the statistics said, 625 children, most of them aged 15 or younger, were sexually abused by members of the Catholic clergy.

Archbishop Stanislaw Gadecki, the president of the conference, said it was "particularly painful, even tragic" that priests betrayed public trust by "hurting those who are most vulnerable."

He also said that the problem was not confined to the church and that related areas of abuse also needed attention.

"What is the point of dealing with this problem in the Catholic Church if that problem persists in other groups of the society?" he asked during a news briefing on Thursday. "We are narrowing down the issue of children's suffering to sexual abuse, instead of looking at the bigger picture that includes sex tourism, slavery, organ trade and others."

Many said they thought the figures released in the report underestimated the true extent of the problem and left unanswered questions that church officials have been avoiding for years.

Marek Lisinski, the co-founder of an organization called Don't Be Afraid, which represents victims of clerical abuse, said "the numbers don't tell the whole story."

"Show us the files of those priests," he said on Thursday, issuing a demand to church leaders. "Tell us how they hurt those children and how many times they were transferred to different parishes before you paid notice."

Image

Marek Lisinski, a victim of clerical sexual abuse, co-founded an organization called Don't Be Afraid to represent those who have suffered at the hands of priests in Poland. Credit Wojtek Radwanski/Agence France-Presse - Getty Images

The release of the data, which church officials said was only a prelude to a closer examination of the issue, came weeks after a landmark Vatican meeting on sexual abuse at which Pope Francis called "for an all-out battle against the abuse of minors" and said that the church needed to protect children "from ravenous wolves."

The church in Poland is one of the most powerful in the world, with about 87 percent of the country's 38 million people saying they are Catholic.

But the church's record on tackling abuse is patchy at best. In 2012, Archbishop Jozef Michalik, a former president of the Episcopal Conference, blamed divorced parents and feminists - as well as children he said had lured priests - for abuse by clergy.

Other senior religious figures have deflected the subject of abuse, conflating it with homosexuality despite research finding no connection between being gay and abusing children.

After pressure from Pope Francis, Poland's church has changed its tone in recent years, with top figures publicly apologizing to abuse victims. The church now underlines the need to report those accused of hurting children or committing other crimes.

Before the Vatican meeting, Archbishop Gadecki met with those who had suffered abuse as children.

The publication of the statistics is the first time the church has presented any data about the scale of the problem in Poland. For decades, clergy who were told about the sexual abuse of minors were not required by their superiors to report the information to the police. Instead, they were supposed to investigate the allegations and, if proven credible, inform the Vatican.

That policy has regularly been challenged by the Don't Be Afraid organization, which has been gathering testimony for over five years and hand-delivered a report on abuse in Poland to Pope Francis last month.

In a report released during the Vatican meeting, Don't Be Afraid listed 24 Polish bishops who, it said, failed to report priests who had sexually abused minors, letting them stay in ministry and often continue to work with children. The report has been called "inaccurate" by church officials in Poland.

Mr. Lisinski, who was abused as a child by a priest, said that he had been trying to arrange a meeting with church officials in Poland for years. It took him only a week to set up a meeting with Pope Francis during the last conference at the Vatican, he said.

"He kissed my hand and actually cried. And I could tell he was honest," Mr. Lisinski said in an interview before the abuse figures were released. "They were real tears of sorrow and helplessness, because he knows that he can't change the attitude of the church on his own."

As Poland gears up for national elections in the fall, the debate surrounding the church has grown more heated and political. Many religious leaders are close to the governing, right-wing Law and Justice party and the church often echoes government warnings about the threat to the "traditional family" posed by gay rights. The issue has become a leading topic in the campaign after the mayor of Warsaw signed a declaration defending L.G.B.T. rights.

A demonstration in Warsaw in October against abuse by Roman Catholic priests. Credit Alik Keplicz/Associated Press

The church enjoys a privileged status in Poland. Along with Poland's cherished pope, John Paul II, the church helped fight the Communist regime that collapsed in 1989. It is also credited with having played a significant role in building Poland's subsequent civil society.

As a result, analysts say, the social consequences of incriminating priests in Poland are much higher than in other countries.

"Without the church, Poland as it is today wouldn't exist," said Ireneusz Krzeminski, a sociologist at the University of Warsaw. "Being Polish has inadvertently intertwined with being Catholic. That's why Poles have always approached the subject of the church's sins with restraint."

In recent months, however, the church has come under increasing pressure - in the courts and in public opinion.

"Clergy," a movie by the director Wojciech Smarzowski that focuses on child abuse and how the church covered it up, has won a huge audience in Poland, with five million going to see it since its release in September.

And in a precedent-setting ruling, the church was ordered to pay about $260,000 in compensation to a woman who, when she was 13, was repeatedly raped by her local priest.

The church in Poland has appealed that verdict, and a highly charged question in Poland is who should compensate the victims - the individual priests, who are often destitute, or the church itself.

The growing public anger about abuse by members of the clergy could be seen in the case of the Rev. Henryk Jankowski, who was a parish priest in Gdansk, a northern Polish port city. Father Jankowski gained prominence and enormous popularity in the 1980s by supporting Lech Walesa's Solidarity movement, but his image was tarnished in later years by allegations of abuse.

Further accusations against Father Jankowski, who died in 2010, surfaced last year, when several victims came forward with horrific accounts of abuse suffered at his hands.

"It wasn't that he chose me," one of the victims, Barbara Borowiecka, said in an interview with Polish news media. "As kids, we were running from him to hide in basements or our houses - he would cling to the first child he caught."

Father Jankowski's statue in Gdansk was removed by the City Council last week after protesters spilled red paint on the monument and twice tried to dismantle it, once on the day the Vatican conference started.

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page A9 of the New York edition with the headline: Grim Findings on Priest Abuse in Poland: 625 Victims Since 1990. Order Reprints | Today's Paper | Subscribe

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Catholic Church in Poland Releases Study on Sexual Abuse by Priests

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WARSAW - The Roman Catholic Church in Poland released long-awaited statistics on Thursday that shed light on the sexual abuse of children by priests over the past 28 years. The study, commissioned by the Episcopal Conference of Poland and pulling together data from over 10,000 local parishes, found that from 1990 to mid-2018, church officials received abuse reports concerning 382 priests.

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Male college-aged students (18-24) are 78% more likely than non-students of the same age to be a victim of rape or sexual assault.¹

Female college-aged students (18-24) are 20% less likely than non-students of the same age to be a victim of rape or sexual assault.¹

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Sexual violence on campus is pervasive.

13% of all students experience rape or sexual assault through physical force, violence, or incapacitation (among all graduate and undergraduate students).²

Among graduate and professional students, 9.7% of females and 2.5% of males experience rape or sexual assault through physical force, violence, or incapacitation.²

Among undergraduate students, 26.4% of females and 6.8% of males experience rape or sexual assault through physical force, violence, or incapacitation.²

5.8% of students have experienced stalking since entering college.²

Student or not, college-age adults are at high risk for sexual violence.

Male college-aged students (18-24) are 78% more likely than non-students of the same age to be a victim of rape or sexual assault.¹

Female college-aged students (18-24) are 20% less likely than non-students of the same age to be a victim of rape or sexual assault.¹

Sexual Violence Is More Prevalent at College, Compared to Other Crimes

About 1 in 5 college-aged female survivors received assistance from a victim services agency. ²

23.1% of TGQN (transgender, genderqueer, nonconforming) college students have been sexually assaulted.

College-Age Victims of Sexual Violence Often Do Not Report to Law Enforcement

Because this study allowed victims to cite more than one reason for not reporting to law enforcement, this statistic may not total 100%.

Only 20% of female student victims, age 18-24, report to law enforcement.1

Only 32% of nonstudent females the same age do make a report.¹

Sexual Violence May Occur at a Higher Rate at Certain Times of the Year

More than 50% of college sexual assaults occur in either August, September, October, or November.⁴

Students are at an increased risk during the first few months of their first and second semesters in college.⁴

Campus Law Enforcement Has a Significant Role in Addressing and Responding to College Sexual Assault

86% of sworn campus law enforcement officials have legal authority to make an arrest outside of the campus grounds.⁵

86% of sworn campus law enforcement agencies have a staff member responsible for rape prevention programming.⁵

70% of campus law enforcement agencies have memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with local law enforcement.⁵

72% of campus law enforcement agencies have a staff member responsible for survivor response and assistance.⁵

Among 4-year academic institutions with 2,500 students or more, 75% employ armed officers, a 10% increase in the last decade.⁵

Understanding RAINN's statistics

Sexual violence is notoriously difficult to measure, and there is no single source of data that provides a complete picture of the crime. On RAINN's website, we have tried to select the most reliable source of statistics for each topic. The primary data source we use is the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), which is an annual study conducted by the Justice Department. To conduct NCVS, researchers interview tens of thousands of Americans each year to learn about crimes that they've experienced. Based on those interviews, the study provides estimates of the total number of crimes, including those that were not reported to police. While NCVS has a number of limitations (most importantly, children under age 12 are not included), overall, it is the most reliable source of crime statistics in the U.S.

We have also relied on other Justice Department studies, as well as data from the Department of Health and Human Services and other government and academic sources. When assembling these statistics, we have generally retained the wording used by the authors. Statistics are presented for educational purposes only. Each statistic includes a footnote citation for the original source, where you can find information about the methodology and a definition of terms.

Learn more about RAINN's statistics.

Sources: ​

1. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Rape and Sexual Victimization Among College-Aged Females, 1995-2013 (2014).

2. David Cantor, Bonnie Fisher, Susan Chibnall, Reanna Townsend, et. al. Association of American Universities (AAU), Report on the AAU Campus Climate Survey on Sexual Assault and Sexual Misconduct (January 17, 2020). ("Victim services agency" is defined in this study as a "public or privately funded organization that provides victims with support and services to aid their recovery, offer protection, guide them through the criminal justice process, and assist with obtaining restitution." RAINN presents this data for educational purposes only, and strongly recommends using the citations to review any and all sources for more information and detail.)

3. i. National Crime Victimization Survey, 1995-2013 (2015); ii. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Rape and Sexual Victimization Among College-Aged Females, 1995-2013 (2014).

4. Campus Sexual Assault Study, 2007; Matthew Kimble, Andrada Neacsiu, et. Al, Risk of Unwanted Sex for College Women: Evidence for a Red Zone, Journal of American College Health (2008).

5. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Campus Law Enforcement, 2011-2012 (2015).

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Sexual violence on campus is pervasive. 13% of all students experience rape or sexual assault through physical force, violence, or incapacitation (among all graduate and undergraduate students).2 Among graduate and professional students, 9.7% of females and 2.5% of males experience rape or sexual assault through physical force, violence, or incapacitation.2 Among undergraduate students, 26.4% of females and 6.8% of males experience rape or sexual assault through physical force, violence, or incapacitation.2 5.8% of students have experienced stalking since entering college.2 Student or not, college-age adults are at high risk for sexual violence.

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'I was groomed and sexually abused by 30 or 40 adult men' - BBC Stories

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-One in five women and one in 71 men will be raped at some point in their lives.
-51.1% of female victims of rape reported being raped by an intimate partner and 40.8% by an acquaintance.

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National Sexual Violence Resource Center

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Learn more on our Questions and Answers page.

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Donayah - Sexual Assault hot-line number

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Donayah - Sexual Assault hot-line number

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Call 1-800-656-4673