The Basics
What does CSA stand for?
Child Sexual Abuse
True or False: Boys can experience sexual abuse too.
True. Children of all genders can experience sexual abuse.
Name one feeling a child might have after experiencing sexual abuse.
Sad, angry, scared, confused, embarrassed, numb, worried, or many other feelings.
A child may have positive feelings toward or care about someone who also harmed them.
Fact.
A child can love, miss, or care about someone who harmed them. Having those feelings does not mean the abuse was okay or that it was their fault.
True or False: A child might be afraid to tell someone about abuse.
True.
What is child sexual abuse?
Sexual activity, contact, or exploitation, involving a child who cannot legally or developmentally consent.
True or False: Sexual abuse is always reported right away.
False. Many children delay telling or never report, meaning statistics likely underestimate how often it occurs.
True or False: Every child who experiences sexual abuse will act sad or scared.
False.
Children always tell someone about sexual abuse.
Myth.
Children may wait to tell for many reasons, including fear, confusion, shame, threats, or worrying about what will happen.
Name one reason a child might not tell right away.
Fear, shame, confusion, threats, worry about getting in trouble, concern about what will happen to the family, or not understanding that what happened was abuse.
True or False: Sexual abuse always involves physical force.
False. Abuse can involve manipulation, pressure, threats, grooming, or exploitation.
About what percentage of child sexual abuse is perpetrated by someone known to and trusted by the child or family?
About 90%.
Name one behavioral change that could happen after trauma.
Withdrawal, difficulty sleeping, changes at school, aggression, regression, changes in behavior, or avoiding certain people or places.
If a child does not seem upset when talking about what happened, it means they were not affected by it.
Myth.
People respond to trauma in different ways. A child may seem calm, laugh, shut down, or may have difficulty, showing their feelings.
True or False: If someone doesn't believe you the first time, you should stop trying to tell.
False. You can continue telling safe adults until someone listens and helps.
True or False: A person who sexually abuses a child is a stranger.
False. Most children who experience sexual abuse know the person who harmed them. The CDC estimates about 90% child abuse is perpetrated by someone known and trusted by the child or family.
True or False: A child may continue seeing or interacting with the person who abused them.
True. Abuse may be ongoing, particularly when the person is someone the child knows, lives with, or regularly encounters. RAINN reports that many children who contact its hotline disclose ongoing abuse.
True or False: Some children may seem completely fine even when they have experienced something traumatic.
True. Children respond to trauma differently, and signs are not always obvious.
If a child's body has a physical response during sexual abuse, it means they enjoyed it.
Myth.
The body can have automatic physical responses that a person cannot control. A physical response does not mean they wanted it, liked it, or gave permission.
Who is responsible for sexual abuse?
The person who chose to abuse the child.
Name two ways someone might use power or control to keep a child from telling.
Threats, manipulation, gifts, pressure, secrecy, blaming the child, or telling them no one will believe them.
According to CDC estimates, approximately how many girls experience child sexual abuse before age 18?
About 1 out of every 4 girls and 1 out of every 20 boys.
A child starts having nightmares, becomes withdrawn, and has trouble concentrating after something traumatic happens. Could these be possible trauma reactions?
Yes. Trauma can show up through emotional, behavioral, physical, and school-related changes.
A child is responsible for stopping sexual abuse from happening.
Myth.
The person who chose to abuse is responsible for the abuse. It is never he child's job to stop or prevent it.
True or False: Children who experience sexual abuse can heal.
True. Healing can take time and can look different for everyone. Support, safety, and trauma-informed treatment can help.