National evidence and research show that one in three females and one in five males have been sexually abused before the age of eighteen years. 60 percent are abused by family friends or acquaintances, 30 percent are abused by a family member and 10 percent are abused by strangers.

The effects of sexual abuse extend far beyond childhood. 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 95 percent of teens who work in or are forced to work in the sex industry have been sexually abused.
(CT Center for Prevention of Child Abuse)

• 63 percent of pregnant and parenting adolescents have experienced sexual molestation or rape prior to their first pregnancy.
(Boyer & Fine, 1993)

• Approximately 31 percent of all women and 24 percent of all men in prison report that they were sexually abused as children.
(US Dept. of Justice, 1991; Hawaii Dept. of Public Safety, 2008)

Children can recover from sexual abuse and go on to live healthy and productive lives. However, they can seldom accomplish this on their own.

They need the ongoing support of their families and community resources to aid in their healing process. The community at-large needs to be educated on the issue, knowledgeable on how to respond to a disclosure of abuse and aware of the services available to all victims.

If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, CAH can help. Call (808) 599-2955 or (808) 246-3746 on Kaua‘i for more information.