Citation

Fleming JM. Med. J. Aust. 1997; 166(2): 65-68.

Affiliation

National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, Australian National University, Canberra. jmf868@nceph.anu.edu.au

Copyright

(Copyright © 1997, Australian Medical Association, Publisher Australasian Medical Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

9033559

Abstract

This retrospective study determined the prevalence of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) in a community sample of women in Australia. Conducted in 1994, the study was part of a larger two-stage case-control study of the possible relationship between CSA and alcohol abuse in women. The sample consisted of 710 women randomly selected from the Australian federal electoral rolls. Of the total sample population, 144 women (20%) had experienced CSA; 14 of these 144 women (10%) had experienced either vaginal or anal intercourse. The mean age at the first episode of CSA was 10 years, and most (71%) of the women were under 12 years of age at that time. Perpetrators of the abuse were usually males (98%) and were usually known to the child; 41% were relatives. Of the CSA experiences, only 10% were ever reported to the police, a doctor, or an agency. The high CSA rates (estimated to be 20% of all women) and the low reporting rates (10%) indicate the need for general practitioners and other health professionals to be aware that a history of such abuse may be common in women in the general population.

Language: en