National Centre for Action on Child Sexual Abuse welcomes landmark study
Findings from the Australian Child Maltreatment Study (ACMS) have been released today, with remarkable insights regarding the prevalence of child sexual abuse. Nationally, 28.5% of the population stated they had experienced child sexual abuse prior to the age of 18 years, with 1 in 3 girls and 1 in 5 boys represented.
The research also revealed that:
- When a child experiences sexual abuse, it rarely happens once. For participants who experienced childhood sexual abuse, 78% said it happened more than once, with 11% saying it happened more than 50 times.
- Girls experience 2.4 times the rate of child sexual abuse than boys in the 16–24-year-old age group.
This is critical data that can help shape future action and policy.
The National Centre for Action on Child Sexual Abuse (National Centre) applauds the researchers and authors for this significant and important work.
National Centre CEO Dr Leanne Beagley said:
“We must not look away from what the ACMS is telling us. Children, especially girls, are experiencing child sexual abuse in seriously high numbers in our country, while many adults are living with the long-term and distressing impacts of sexual abuse in their childhoods. The victim and survivor community have been telling us this and the new data urges the whole community to listen, hear and act to bring about change. Children have a right to be protected by the adults around them – this is up to us all.”
To support the launch and discuss the study findings, the National Centre is proud to be hosting an In Conversation online event with Lead Investigator Ben Mathews and National Centre Board Members, Dr Joe Tucci, Chair and CEO of the Australian Childhood Foundation, Dr Cathy Kezelman, Deputy Chair and President of the Blue Knot Foundation, Fiona Cornforth, Board Member and CEO of The Healing Foundation, and Dr Leanne Beagley. A live Q&A session will follow the panel discussion.
To register, visit here.
The ACMS Report is available here.
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