Who Abuses Youth? | Joshua Center on Child Sexual Abuse

Summary

Children may be sexually abused by any person in their life, including other youth, and are vastly more likely to be abused by someone they already know. More than 9 in 10 people who sexually abuse children are already known to the youth as an acquaintance (40-58.7%) or family member (33-56%), while only 4-10% of offenders are strangers. More than one-third (35.6%) of reported sexual offenses against youth are committed by other youth. Risk factors including a history of being abused oneself, among others, increase the chance that an adult or youth will sexually abuse or coerce (i.e., forcing, manipulating, or bribing someone into a sexual act).

People who Commit Sexual Offenses

Myths that offenders are strangers or fall into monolithic stereotypes serve to perpetuate CSA by preventing people from having accurate information about who sexually abuses children. People who commit sexual offenses can be parents and other family members, caregivers, friends, acquaintances, strangers, other children and adolescents, and people in positions of trust or authority such as religious leaders, teachers, health care providers, and sports coaches.

Myths and stereotypes obscure the reality of who abuses youth.

While the legal term “sexual offender” is used to describe anyone convicted of a sexual offense, youth who have committed a sexual offense against other youth are known within the field of prevention as youth with illegal sexual behavior problems, not as offenders or perpetrators. Experts have argued that referring to youth as offenders or perpetrators encourages arrests of youth rather than interventions that may help address the problematic behaviors. More than 9 in 10 people who sexually abuse children are already known to the child as an acquaintance or family member.1

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

Below are ranges of estimated perpetration derived from reports made to law enforcement,1 2 Child Protective Services,3 and a nationally representative sample of State prisoners:4

40-58.7% of offenders are non-family acquaintances1 2 4
33-46% of offenders are family members1 2 4
32-33% of offenders are parents or parental figures.3 4 Of these, 14% are biological fathers, 9% are step-fathers, and 7% are mothers’ boyfriends3
Only 4%-10% of offenders are strangers1 2 4

As children age, the likelihood that a perpetrator is a non-family acquaintance or stranger increases, whereas the likelihood of a perpetrator being a family member decreases.1

Adult Offender Characteristics

Having a history of sexual abuse, antisocial personality, difficulty with intimate relationships, experiencing harsh discipline as a child, and loneliness have been identified as the most significant risk factors for perpetration of CSA.5

Additional risk factors can be classified into six broad categories:

Family Risk Factors (e.g., history of physical and sexual abuse; experiencing more harsh discipline and poor attachment or bonding as a child)
Externalizing Behaviors (e.g., aggression and violence; non-violent criminality; anger/hostility; substance abuse; paranoia/mistrust; antisocial personality disorder)
Internalizing behaviors (e.g., anxiety; depression; low self-esteem; external locus of control)
Social Deficits (e.g., low social skills/competence; loneliness; difficulties with intimate relationships; lack of secure attachment)
Sexual Behaviors (e.g., sexual externalizing problems; higher sex drive and preoccupations; more “deviant” sexual interests; greater sexualized coping)
Attitudes/Cognitions (e.g., attitudes that minimize perpetrator culpability; attitudes tolerant of adult-child sex)6

Characteristics of Intrafamilial CSA Offenders

Common explanations of sexual offense that focus on atypical sexual interests and antisocial tendencies are not reflected in the nuances of intrafamilial offending. Research comparing intrafamilial and extrafamilial offenders has identified the following differences between these two groups of offenders:7

Intrafamilial offenders exhibited fewer antisocial tendencies (e.g., criminal history, juvenile delinquency, substance use, impulsivity, and psychopathology) and atypical sexual interests (e.g., pedophilia, other paraphilias, and excessive sexual preoccupation)
Intrafamilial offenders also showed lower attitudes and beliefs that support offending, emotional congruence with children, and interpersonal deficits
However, intrafamilial offenders were more likely to have experienced family abuse or neglect, sexual abuse, and poor parent-child attachments7

Youth Who Sexually Offend or Coerce

Youth commit more than a third (35.6%) of all the sexual offenses against other youth that are reported to police.8 Sexual offenses are specific, illegal sexual acts including forcible rape, sodomy, sexual assault with an object, or fondling, and non-forcible incest and statutory rape. The vast majority of youth who sexually offend against other youth are adolescents age 12-14 (38%) and 15-17 (46%).8

More than one-third of reported sexual offenses against youth are committed by other youth.

Sexual coercion refers to forcing, manipulating, or bribing someone into a sexual act. A variety of factors may put youth at risk for committing sexually coercive behavior (i.e., forcing, manipulating, or bribing someone into a sexual act). These include:

A history of abuse or trauma, including personal exposure to violence or child maltreatment9 10
Having behaviors that co-occur with these experiences such as substance abuse and non-sexual violent behavior10
Having atypical sexual interests, referred to in this study as arousal to children or sex obtained through force11
Frequent pornography consumption (almost every day)12
Exposure to violent pornography12
Having been sexually abused oneself11 12

Recent evidence shows that experiencing sexual abuse increases a youth’s likelihood of committing sexually coercive behavior by more than two to three times (depending on the study), even when accounting for the impacts of other variables (including a history of child maltreatment, exposure to physical violence, mental health problems, substance abuse, demographics, and violent, antisocial, or sexual behaviors)10 12 13 High rates of sexual abuse histories have also been found in youth who have sexually offended.11

Overall, most youth who have been sexually abused and most youth in the general population will not sexually offend8 or coerce. General population studies estimate that 95% of males and 99% of females have not engaged in sexually coercive behavior by age 20.14 15 Although relatively few youth engage in sexual coercion or offending against other youth, their actions may have significant, negative impacts on the youth victimized by them (see Effects of Child Sexual Abuse).

Teen Dating Violence

The most frequent perpetrators of sexual violence against girls ages 15-19 are intimate partners.16 Research demonstrates that 14% of girls and 8% of boys report experiencing sexual violence in the context of romantic relationships (i.e., teen dating violence).17 However, teenage girls report lower rates of perpetration compared to boys (3% and 10%, respectively).17

The most frequent perpetrators of sexual violence against girls ages 15-19 are intimate partners.

Risk factors for perpetrating teen dating violence include:

Peer influence
- Having friends who have been involved in dating violence (either as perpetrators or victims)18 19
- Experiencing peers’ aggressive, violent, and/or antisocial behavior18 19
- Substance use19
Personal and peer group beliefs/attitudes towards violence19
- Acceptance of rape myths
- Tolerance of violence
- Justification of violence use

Youth sexual offending deserves attention as it has serious implications for both victimized and offending youths. Youth who have offended sexually may be subject to treatment or legal responses designed for adults that may be overly restrictive or punitive, including being placed in residential treatment, tried in court as an adult, placed in the adult correction system, or made subject to sex offender registration, community notification, or civil commitment post-incarceration.20 Sexual offending carries a significant stigma that can follow youth for a considerable period of time. It can disrupt their lives by requiring therapy or incarceration and lead to removal from their homes or schools, loss of friends, and other serious changes in their daily lives.

1. a. b. c. d. e. f. 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
2. a. b. c. d. Finkelhor, D. & Shattuck, A. (2012). Characteristics of crimes against juveniles. Durham, NH: Crimes against Children Research Center.
3. a. b. c. 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.
4. 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.
5. Whitaker, D. J., Le, B., Hanson, R. K., Baker, C. K., McMahon, P. M., Ryan, G., Klein, A. & Rice, D. D. (2008). Risk factors for perpetration of child sexual abuse: A review and meta-analysis. Child Abuse and Neglect 32(5), 529–548.
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7. a. b. Seto, M., Babchishin, K., Pullman, L. & McPhail, I. (2015). The puzzle of intrafamilial child sexual abuse: A meta-analysis comparing intrafamilial and extrafamilial offenders with child victims. Clinical Psychology Review 39, 42–57.
8. a. b. c. 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.
9. Dillard, R., & Beaujolais, B. (2019). Trauma and adolescents who engage in sexually abusive behavior: a review of the literature. Journal of child sexual abuse, 1-20.
10. a. b. c. Aebi, M., Landolt, M. A., Mueller-Pfeiffer, C., Schnyder, U., Maier, T., & Mohler-Kuo, M. (2015). Testing the “sexually abused-abuser hypothesis” in adolescents: A population-based study. Archives of sexual behavior, 44(8), 2189-2199.
11. a. b. c. Seto, M. C., & Lalumière, M. L. (2010). What is so special about male adolescent sexual offending? A review and test of explanations through meta-analysis. Psychological bulletin, 136(4), 526.
12. a. b. c. d. Seto, M. C., Kjellgren, C., Priebe, G., Mossige, S., Svedin, C. G., & Långström, N. (2010). Sexual coercion experience and sexually coercive behavior: A population study of Swedish and Norwegian male youth. Child Maltreatment, 15(3), 219-228.
13. Casey, E. A., Beadnell, B., & Lindhorst, T. P. (2009). Predictors of sexually coercive behavior in a nationally representative sample of adolescent males. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 24(7), 1129-1147.
14. Seto, M. C., Kjellgren, C., Priebe, G., Mossige, S., Svedin, C. G., & Långström, N. (2010). Sexual coercion experience and sexually coercive behavior: A population study of Swedish and Norwegian male youth. Child Maltreatment, 15(3), 219-228.[/fn[Kjellgren, C., Priebe, G., Svedin, C. G., & Långström, N. (2010). Sexually coercive behavior in male youth: Population survey of general and specific risk factors. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 39(5), 1161-1169.
15. Kjellgren, C., Priebe, G., Svedin, C. G., Mossige, S., & Långström, N. (2011). Female youth who sexually coerce: Prevalence, risk, and protective factors in two national high school surveys. The Journal of Sexual Medicine, 8(12), 3354-3362.
16. 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).
17. a. b. Wincentak, K., Connolly, J., Card, N. (2016). Teen dating violence: A meta-analytic review of prevalence rates. Psychology of Violence, 7, 224–241.
18. a. b. Garthe, R. C., Sullivan, T. N., McDaniel, M. A. (2016). A meta-analytic review of peer risk factors and adolescent dating violence. Psychology of Violence, 7, 45–57.
19. a. b. c. d. Leen, E., Sorbring, E., Mawer, M., Holdsworth, E., Helsing, B., & Bowen, E. (2013). Prevalence, dynamic risk factors and the efficacy of primary interventions for adolescent dating violence: An international review. Aggression and violent behavior, 18(1), 159-174.
20. Letourneau, E. J., & Miner, M. H. (2005). Juvenile sex offenders: A case against the legal and clinical status quo. Sexual abuse: a journal of research and treatment, 17(3), 293-312.