Outside of your direct care, youth are almost always at some risk for abuse. This can feel overwhelming, but most abuse is preventable. Having knowledge of risks and a strong relationship with your youth can help mitigate potential dangers.

Having knowledge of risks and a strong relationship with your youth can help mitigate potential dangers.

Learning more about child sexual abuse (CSA) and risks for abuse is critical to protecting your child.  

In this section, we will cover:

• Risk factors for abuse
• Identifying possible abusers 
• Contexts for abuse and recognizing risk

Risk Factors for Abuse

While some children may be at higher risk for child sexual abuse, there is no way to know if a child will be abused, and abuse is never the youth’s fault.

Abuse is never the youth’s fault.

However, research has identified certain youth characteristics as risk factors for, or correlates of, CSA. 

The most commonly identified risk factors include:

• Gender -- being a girl is the most frequently identified risk factor for abuse12
• Prior victimization of the child and/or the child’s family members -- such as prior or concurrent victimization of the child, siblings, or parents (including sexual abuse or other forms of abuse)1
• Parental/parenting problems and difficulties -- such as intimate partner violence or other relationship problems between the child’s parents; parental substance abuse; and parent/child relationship issues (including low levels of parental care/affection or parental overprotection)1
• Family characteristics -- such as having a step-father, low socio-economic status, or over six moves/resettlements1
• Child characteristics -- physical and/or mental chronic condition; using drugs or engaging in violent behavior; low level of social skills; frequent use of the Internet1

Of these, the most significant risks were found to be prior victimization of the child and/or the child’s family members. Strong effects were also found for prior or concurrent victimization (other than child abuse) in the child’s home environment and parental history of child abuse victimization.1 For more information on risks for CSA, see What places youth at risk?.

It can also be noted that certain groups of youth have been found to be victims of CSA at higher rates than their peers. These groups include LGBTQ youth345 and youth with disabilities.6 For more information on CSA prevalence, see How Common is Child Sexual Abuse?.

Identifying Possible Abusers

People who sexually abuse youth are commonly misrepresented and misunderstood. It is important to have an accurate understanding of who may abuse a child in order to protect your child from abuse. While strangers may sexually abuse a child, only 4-10% of CSA offenders are strangers.789 More than 9 in 10 people who sexually abuse children are already known to the child as an acquaintance or family member.7

Only 4-10% of CSA offenders are strangers.

More than 9 in 10 people who sexually abuse children are already known to the child.

Of these:

• 40-58.7% of offenders are non-family acquaintances 789
• 33-46% of offenders are family members789
• 32-33% of offenders are parents or parental figures.910 Of these, 14% are biological fathers, 9% are step-fathers, and 7% are mothers’ boyfriends.10

While people who abuse youth are frequently portrayed as adults, 23-35% of reported sexual offenses against youth are committed by other youth.711

23-35% of reported sexual offenses against youth are committed by other youth.

The vast majority of youth who sexually offend against other youth are adolescents age 12-14 (38%) and 15-17 (46%).11

Many youth who commit sexual offences against other youth are dating partners. The most frequent perpetrators of sexual violence against girls ages 15-19 are intimate partners.12 Research demonstrates that 14% of girls and 8% of boys report experiencing sexual violence in the context of romantic relationships.13

For more information on and characteristics of people who abuse youth, see Who abuses youth?.

Contexts for Abuse and Recognizing Risk 

Throughout childhood and adolescence, children are exposed to different contexts and risks for abuse. With changing needs and activities, youths’ vulnerability to abuse also shifts, so it is important to be aware of these contexts to be able to effectively monitor your youth.

With changing needs and activities, youths’ vulnerability to abuse also shifts.

For example, as children age, a perpetrator is more likely to be a non-family acquaintance or stranger, and less likely to be a family member.7 Youth may experience risk for abuse when left in the care of another adult or child, or even when they are physically alone but interacting with people online.

Youth may experience risk for abuse when left in the care of another adult or child, or even when they are physically alone but interacting with people online.

To mitigate risk, it is important to understand all of these contexts as potential risks for abuse and take action to protect your child (see Protecting Youth from Sexual Abuse).

Some major settings and contexts where youth are at risk for abuse include: 

• Home and family
  • With 33-46% of offenders being family members,789 families pose a significant risk for abuse. Research suggests that certain family dynamics may contribute to a child’s risk
  • For more information on familial risk factors for abuse, see Risk Factors for CSA Victimization
• Schools, educational settings, and youth-serving organizations
  • By entrusting other adults with your child’s care, there is an inherent risk for abuse. Knowledge of these risks and how to select a program or organization for your child is key to prevention
  • For more information on evaluating an organization or program for your child, see Assessing Youth-Serving Organizations 
• Dating relationships
  • Many adolescent youth are abused in the context of dating relationships. Making sure your child knows their boundaries and how to identify unsafe situations is important to protect your child.
  • For more information on how to talk to your child dating and sex, see Support youth in making informed decisions about sexual behavior
  • For more information on risk, see Risks for dating violence victimization and Risks for dating violence perpetration
• Online
  • Adults or other youth may sexually exploit youth online, such as by sharing, storing, or selling sexually explicit images of them. Online communications may also be used to initiate offline (in-person) abuse through grooming, arranging meetings, and coercion.14
  • For more information on staying safe online, see Cyber Safety for Children Under 13 and Cyber Safety for Teenagers

• 1. a. b. c. d. e. f. Assink, M., van der Put, C. E., Meeuwsen, M. W., de Jong, N. M., Oort, F. J., Stams, G. J. J., & Hoeve, M. (2019). Risk factors for child sexual abuse victimization: a meta-analytic review. Psychological bulletin.
• 2. Finkelhor, D., & Baron, L. (1986). Risk factors for child sexual abuse. Journal of interpersonal violence, 1(1), 43-71.
• 3. Andersen, J. P., & Blosnich, J. (2013). Disparities in adverse childhood experiences among sexual minority and heterosexual adults: Results from a multi-state probability-based sample. PloS One, 8(1), e54691.
• 4. Friedman, M. S., Marshal, M. P., Guadamuz, T. E., Wei, C., Wong, C. F., Saewyc, E. M., & Stall, R. (2011). A meta-analysis of disparities in childhood sexual abuse, parental physical abuse, and peer victimization among sexual minority and sexual nonminority individuals. American Journal of Public Health, 101(8), 1481-1494.
• 5. Rothman, E. F., Exner, D., & Baughman, A. L. (2011). The prevalence of sexual assault against people who identify as gay, lesbian, or bisexual in the United States: A systematic review. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 12(2), 55-66.
• 6. Jones, L., Bellis, M. A., Wood, S., Hughes, K., McCoy, E., Eckley, L., ... & Officer, A. (2012). Prevalence and risk of violence against children with disabilities: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies. The Lancet, 380(9845), 899-907.
• 7. a. b. c. d. e. f. g. Bureau of Justice Statistics. (2000). Sexual assault of young people as reported to law enforcement: Victim, incident, and offender characteristics. U.S. Department of Justice: Snyder, H.N. Retrieved from: https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/saycrle.pdf
• 8. a. b. c. d. Finkelhor, D. & Shattuck, A. (2012). Characteristics of crimes against juveniles. Durham, NH: Crimes against Children Research Center.
• 9. a. b. c. d. e. Greenfield, L. A. (1996). Child Victimizers: Violent Offenders and Their Victims. U. S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics and Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
• 10. a. b. US Department of Health and Human Services. (2005). Male perpetrators of child maltreatment: Findings from NCANDS. New York: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation.
• 11. a. b. Finkelhor, D., Ormrod, R., & Chaffin, M. (2009). Juveniles Who Commit Sex Offenses Against Minors. Juvenile justice bulletin. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency: Washington, DC.
• 12. Devries, K., Knight, L., Petzold, M., Merrill, K. G., Maxwell, L., Williams, A., Cappa, C., Chan, K. L., Garcia-Moreno, C., Hollis, N., Kress, H., Peterman, A. Walsh, S. D., Kishor, S., Guedes, A., Bott, S., Butron, R. B., Watts, C., Abrahams, N. (2018). Who perpetrates violence against children? A systematic analysis of age-specific and sex-specific data. BMJ paediatrics open, 2(1).
• 13. Wincentak, K., Connolly, J., Card, N. (2016). Teen dating violence: A meta-analytic review of prevalence rates. Psychology of Violence, 7, 224–241.
• 14. Kloess, J. A., Beech, A. R., & Harkins, L. (2014). Online child sexual exploitation: Prevalence, process, and offender characteristics. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 15(2), 126-139.