Statistics on child sexual abuse
April 2012
Statistics on child sexual abuse, one of the NSPCC's priorities.
- Nearly a quarter of young adults experienced sexual abuse during childhood.
- 17,727 sexual crimes against children under 16 were recorded in England and Wales in 2010/11.
Research statistics on the prevalence of child sexual abuse
Child abuse and neglect in the UK today (Radford et al, 2011) is a major piece of NSPCC research which interviewed young adults aged 18-24 years; children aged 11-17 years and the parents of children aged under 11.
Below are the key findings on child sexual abuse.
Experience of some form of sexual abuse (see Table 5.2)
- Nearly a quarter (24.1%) of young adults experienced sexual abuse including contact and non-contact), by an adult or by a peer during childhood.
- One in six (16.5%) 11-17 year olds have experienced sexual abuse.
- Almost one in 10 (9.4%) 11-17 year olds have experienced sexual abuse in the past year. Teenage girls aged between 15 and 17 reported the highest past year rates of sexual abuse.
Experience of contact sexual abuse (see Table 5.2)
- One in nine (11.3%) young adults experienced contact sexual abuse during childhood.
- One in 20 (4.8%) 11-17 year olds have experienced contact sexual abuse.
- Two thirds (65.9%) of contact sexual abuse experienced by children aged 0-17 was perpetrated by someone aged under 18.
Disclosing sexual abuse (see page 118)
- More than one in three (34%) children who experienced contact sexual abuse by an adult did not tell anyone else about it.
- Four out of five (82.7%) children who experienced contact sexual abuse from a peer did not tell anyone else about it.
From: Radford, Lorraine, Corral, Susana, Bradley, Christine, Fisher, Helen, Bassett, Claire, Howat, Nick and Collishaw, Stephan (2011) Child abuse and neglect in the UK today. London: NSPCC.
Child protection register statistics
- In the UK, 3,083 children were the subject of a child protection plan or on the child protection register under a category that includes sexual abuse on 31 March 2010.
- 7% of all the children subject of a child protection plan in the UK were under a category that includes sexual abuse on 31 March 2010.
For a breakdown by nation and the source of these figures please visit our page on
child protection register statistics.
Crime statistics on sex offences
- 17,727 sexual crimes against children under 16 were recorded in England and Wales in 2010/11.
- 32% of all sexual crimes (54,982 sexual crimes in total) recorded in England and Wales in 2010/11 were sexual crimes against children under 16.
5,115 offences of rape of a female child under 16
918 offences of rape of a male child under 16
4,301 offences of sexual assault on a female child under 13
1,125 offences of sexual assault on a male child under 13
5,806 offences of sexual activity involving a child under 16
152 offences of abuse of children through prostitution and pornography
310 offences of sexual grooming.
- In 2010/11 the police in England and Wales also recorded 146 offences of abuse of a position of trust involving a child under 18.
- More than one third (38%) of all rapes recorded by the police in England and Wales in 2010/11 were committed against children under 16 years of age.
From: Chaplin, Rupert, Faltley, John and Smith, Kevin (eds.) (2011) Table 2.04. In: Crime in England and Wales 2010/11: findings from the British Crime Survey and police recorded crime (PDF). London: National Statistics. p.43.
- Police recorded over 23,000 sex offences against children aged under 18 years in England and Wales between April 2010 and March 2011.
From: Information obtained by NSPCC from all 43 police forces in England and Wales under the Freedom of Information Act. See: NSPCC (2012) Figures obtained by the NSPCC reveal sixty child sex offences a day. NSPCC press release 4 April 2012. London: NSPCC.
Offender statistics
- 37,225 individuals were registered as sexual offenders in England and Wales on 31 March 2010.
It is not possible to establish the number of sexual offenders against children in the UK, as the age of the victim of the sex offence is not given. Therefore these figures include both sex offenders against adults and children.
From: Ministry of Justice (2011) Table 1. In: Multi-agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) annual report 2010/11 (PDF). London: Ministry of Justice.
From: Grubin, Don (1998) Sex offending against children: understanding the risk (PDF). London: Home Office. pp.v-vi and p.26.
See: NSPCC (2011) NSPCC finds 64 child sex crimes a day recorded by police. NSPCC press release 26 May 2011. London: NSPCC.
Lovell, Elizabeth (2002) Children and young people who display sexually harmful behaviour. London: NSPCC.
Cawson, P. et al (2000) Child maltreatment in the United Kingdom: a study of the prevalence of child abuse and neglect. London: NSPCC.
Horne, L.et al(1991) Sexual abuse of children by children. Journal of Child Law, 3(4): 147-151.
Kelly, L., Regan, L. and Burton, S. (1991) An exploratory study of the prevalence of sexual abuse in a sample of 16-21 year olds. London: Polytechnic of North London, Child Abuse Studies Unit.
Morrison, T. (1999) Is there a strategy out there? In: Erooga, M. and Masson, H. (eds) Children and young people who sexually abuse others: challenges and responses. London: Routledge.
Royal Belfast Hospital and Queen's University of Belfast (1990) Child sexual abuse in Northern Ireland: a research study of incidence. Antrim: Greystone Books.
Research statistics on provision of services to sexually abused children
- An estimated 55,000 children who have experienced sexual abuse receive no therapeutic support each year because of a shortfall in the availability of therapeutic services.
- There is only one therapeutic support programme for every 25,000 children living in the UK and many areas provide no therapeutic provision for sexually abused children at all.
From: Allnock, Debra et al (2009) Sexual abuse and therapeutic services for children and young people: the gap between provision and need. London: NSPCC.
Children talking to ChildLine about sexual abuse
- Children talking to ChildLine about sexual abuse
Mariathasan, Jeevi
London: NSPCC, 2010
A ChildLine casenote based on analysis of calls to ChildLine about sexual abuse from April 2008 to March 2009. Looks at the number of children counselled, additional problems children, types of sexual abuse reported, age and gender breakdown of callers and perpetrators.
- Calls to ChildLine about sexual abuse
ChildLine
London: NSPCC, 2007
A ChildLine casenote based on analysis of calls to ChildLine about sexual abuse from April 2005 to March 2006. Includes statistics on sexual abuse including who children tell and what happens then, and the victim-offender relationship.
Further reading
People convicted of child abuse image offences (NSPCC factsheet)Analysis of 284 cases reported in local and national news of people convicted for making, possessing or distributing indecent images of children.
Sexual and physical violence against children in Northern Ireland: a statistical overview of recorded crime 2008–10 (PDF, 393KB)
Analysis of offences recorded by the Police Service for Northern Ireland (PSNI).
Child protection register statisticsThe number of children who are the subject of a child protection plan in England or on a child protection register in Northern Ireland, Scotland or Wales. Includes a breakdown by category of abuse (sexual, physical, emotional, neglect).
How to find, understand and use statistics about child abuseA brief introduction to child abuse statistics.
Prevalence and incidence of child abuse: international comparisonsExplains the issues around comparing UK statistics with other countries.
Contact the NSPCC Information Service for further information on sexual abuse, statistics or any child protection topic
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