What is Child Sexual Abuse

What is Child Sexual Abuse

Child sexual abuse is any form of sexual interaction to which the child cannot consent. All forms are serious and cause serious harm to the child. Child sexual abuse is a traumatic experience and has lasting impacts socially and emotionally.

Child sexual abuse is never the fault of the child.

Child sexual abuse occurs when adults involve children in any type of sexual activity. This activity can be physical or non-physical. It can occur in person, online or via phone including text messages.

Child sexual abuse can occur in all settings in which children and adults are present, including family homes, education facilities, clubs and religious organisations. Perpetrators of child sexual abuse can be anyone, including family members, family friends, teachers, children, coaches and community leaders. 

Child sexual abuse is unfortunately very common.
More than 1 in 4 children in Australia have, or will, experience child sexual abuse. Girls are more likely to experience child sexual abuse (1 in 3) while boys are slightly less likely to (1 in 5).

Reference: Mathews B et al. (2023) The prevalence of child maltreatment in Australia: findings from a national survey. Med J Aust. 218 (6). 

Some forms of child sexual abuse include

• An adult touching a child in a sexual way
• Encouraging or forcing a child to touch themselves or others in a sexual way
• Masturbating in the presence of a child, or encouraging a child to masturbate
• Sexual acts of any kind with a child, including oral, vaginal and anal
• An adult exposing their genitals to a child or encouraging or forcing a child to expose their genitals
• Peeping on a child when they are using the toilet, bathing or undressing
• Making sexual comments about a child
• Showing a child sexually explicit material such as pornography
• Encouraging, bribing or forcing a child to produce sexually explicit materials of themselves or others, including imagery or videos depicting them partially undressed, in underwear, nude or engaging in sexual acts

While child sexual abuse can occur to any child, there are some risk factors which may make some children more vulnerable. These include:

• Being female
• Being part of a marginalised group
• Being in out of home care
• Having a disability
• Social isolation
• Separated or blended families
• Past or current neglect or non-sexual abuse

It is important to know that while child sexual abuse can occur in the home, it is distinct from domestic violence and child abuse and neglect. However, child sexual abuse can occur at the same time as other forms of abuse.

Sources:

Bravehearts: https://bravehearts.org.au
eSafety Commissioner: https://www.esafety.gov.au
National Centre for Action on Child Sexual Abuse: https://nationalcentre.org.au
RAINN: https://rainn.org
Queensland Government Child Safety Practice Manual: https://cspm.csyw.qld.gov.au

What is Grooming

Grooming is the general term used to describe the process a perpetrator may follow in order to commit child sexual abuse. Grooming encompasses acts and behaviours which occur before, during and after the perpetrator has committed abuse.

Grooming describes a series of intentional and deliberate acts or behaviours by the perpetrator which manipulate the child and those around them and cause harm.  

The goal of grooming is to gain access to the child so that abuse can be committed and often so that the abuse can continue without the child speaking out about it.

Grooming is a form of coercive control. It is used to manipulate the child, and often other significant adults in the child’s life, so that the perpetrator can commit abuse.

Grooming occurs in 5 main stages. The earliest stages are often not sexual, making grooming difficult to recognise at the start. While there are 5 key stages, they may not always appear in a set order. Not all stages have to be present for grooming to have occurred.

Stages of Grooming

The perpetrator will deliberately choose a child. All children are vulnerable; however, a perpetrator may choose a child who is already isolated, disadvantaged or lacking self-esteem or confidence.

The perpetrator will work to gain the trust of the child. They may do this by singling the child out for attention or favouritism, spend time with the child engaging in their interests or by providing the child with gifts. They may also work to gain trust of others around the child by presenting themselves to parents or other caregivers as being a respectable and trustworthy person.

The perpetrator will work to find ways to be alone with the child. This does not always mean that they child and the perpetrator are alone in person. This can also be achieved through engaging with the child via private phone calls, texts or messaging apps. The child will often be encouraged to keep this one-on-one contact a secret from others.

The perpetrator will engage in behaviour that breaks down the normal accepted barriers and begin engaging in increasingly inappropriate and abusive behaviour. This can begin with inappropriate conversations such as discussing sexual topics with a child, sometimes under the guise of it being for educational purposes. Behaviour may then escalate and include exposing children to nude photos or pornography. The perpetrator may also begin to break physical barriers with non-sexual touch, such as hugging or tickling, eventually leading to inappropriate and sexual touch and interactions.

The perpetrator will use secrecy, shame, blame and threats to prevent the child from disclosing what is happening to them and exert control. Because the perpetrator has normalised the behaviours over time, for some children it may be difficult to identify that what is happening is abuse. As the child has been isolated from usual support networks, the perpetrator may convince the child that they will not be believed if they speak out, or that the child themselves is responsible for what has happened to them.

Grooming can be difficult to spot and can involve both the child and others around them.

Grooming is never the fault of the child.

Sources:

Bravehearts: https://bravehearts.org.au
eSafety Commissioner: https://www.esafety.gov.au
National Centre for Action on Child Sexual Abuse: https://nationalcentre.org.au
RAINN: https://rainn.org
Queensland Government Child Safety Practice Manual: https://cspm.csyw.qld.gov.au