November 20 / 2023 / Reading Time: 3 minutes
Understanding the nature of CSEA from violence against children surveys
Analysis from comparable data across 16 countries shows that the majority of adolescents who have been sexually abused as children report the first occurrence of abuse to have happened before the age of 13.
This study is the first to analyse comparable representative data from national Violence Against Children and Youth Surveys (VACS) to understand the nature of Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (CSEA) across 17 countries. The aim is to facilitate evidence-based policymaking and the development of targeted strategies to address CSEA effectively. By documenting the nature of CSEA we can take the first step in identifying patterns, risk and protective factors that shape early intervention and prevention measures to protect children from exploitation and abuse.
Research findings
Direct self-reports of adolescents ages 13 to 17 years old across 16 countries in Africa, Latin America and Europe found that 47% of girls and 53% of boys reported that their first experience of sexual abuse happened before age of 13.
Age of first victimisation for females and males as reported by 13-17 year olds across 16 countries
VACS Data 2007-2019
Age of first victimisation for females and males as reported by 18-24 year olds across 16 countries
VACS Data 2007-2019
With a different sample of young adults aged 18 – 24 years, we see an increase in reporting later adolescent experiences, especially among boys. This shows that proximity to the event may increase self-report recall in surveys and that the most frequent occurrence of first experience of CSEA is reported by 13 to 17 year olds as occurring under the age of 13.
Lifetime child sexual abuse prevalence is on average very high in this sample of countries: 17.2% for women and 8.2% for men (as reported retrospectively by persons 18 to 24 years old). However, it is important to acknowledge the existing spread across nations.
Comparable and representative data for 17 countries (17 countries with female data and 15 countries with male data) show that lifetime prevalence of CSEA ranges from 3.1 % to 37.4% for females, and from 1% to 15.7% for males. Moreover, the simple averages for this group of countries are 17.2% and 8.2% for females and males, respectively.
The evidence provided by these surveys suggests sexual violence mostly happens in a private home. According to the data, 60 to 70% of CSEA victims report that the first event happened at their own home, the perpetrator’s home, or someone else’s home.
CSEA is also likely to co-occur with other forms of abuse. 1 in 3 girls and 1 in 5 boys who report CSEA also reported experiencing physical or emotional violence during childhood.
Proportion of female and male CSEA victims that also experienced other type of violence during childhood (physical or emotional), reported by 18-24 year olds
VACS Data 2007-2019
More information
Harker Roa, A., Rodriguez, M.F., Rodriguez, J., Contreras, P., Marmolejo, M.P., Jaramillo, K., Lopez, J., Mendivelso, D., Vermeulen, I., and Fry, D. Understanding the Nature of CSEA from Violence Against Children Surveys. In Searchlight 2023 - Childlight's Annual Flagship Report. Childlight – Global Child Safety Institute: Edinburgh, 2023.
- Researchers: Prof Arturo Harker Roa, Maria Fernanda Rodríguez, Jorge Rodríguez, Paula Contreras, Maria Paula Marmolejo, Katherine Jaramillo, Julián Lopez, Daniel Mendivelso, Dr. Inga Vermeulen and Prof Deborah Fry
- Registered Study Protocol: https://osf.io/48kvz
- Ethics Approval: Universidad de los Andes and University of Edinburgh