Unfortunately, sexual abuse is a relatively common experience in the lives of children. The Child Trauma Academy chapter of the Encyclopedia of Crime and Punishment, 2001, reported that one out of three females and one out of five males have been victims of sexual abuse before the age of 18 years. According to the Honolulu Police Department Sex Crimes Detail statistics there were 661 child victims of sex offenses on Oahu in 2003 and 576 in 2004. It is estimated that over the last 18 years there were approximately 8,000 to 10,000 child sexual abuse victims on Oahu.

Statistics show that sexually abused children are vulnerable to many social problems that have mental, physical and spiritual repercussions for the child, family and our community. Left untreated, they are at very highly at-risk for serious and sometimes life-threatening social problems, including early pregnancy, substance abuse, homelessness, low educational achievement, mental health disorders, unemployment, suicide, and criminal activities. The after affect can lead to an enormous burden and cost to the public at large. Consider these statistics:

• Sexually abused children are at a threefold risk for substance abuse, (Childhood Sexual Abuse: Impact on a community’s mental health status, 1992, K.D. Scott)
  


• Approximately 31% of women in prison report that they were sexually abused children, (US Department of Justice, 1991
  


• 74% of women who had intercourse before age 14 report a history of forced sexual intercourse, (Alan Guttmacher Institute, 1994)
  


• 62% of pregnant and parenting adolescents had experienced molestation or rape prior to their first pregnancy, (Boyer & Fine, 1993)


• Approximately 95% of teenage prostitutes have been sexually abused, (CT Center for Prevention of Child Abuse)