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Sexual abuse in primary and secondary schools also referred to as molestation, is an abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using force or by taking advantage of another especially in people who are underaged and concerns child sexual abuse, occurring in educational institutions from kindergarten through secondary education. [1]
A 1993 study performed by the American Association of University Women examined seventy-nine state schools in the United States and found that 9.6% of students reported sexual abuse by teachers in the school setting. [2]
The victims of school sexual abuse are often "vulnerable or marginal students". [3]
In April 2015, education official Najat Vallaud-Belkacem admitted that "16 teachers were allowed to work in schools last year despite holding previous convictions for paedophilia." [4] An international NGO claimed that "Thousands of children in French schools have been sexually abused by paedophile teachers". [4] In the same year, twenty-seven staff members in primary and secondary schools were fired for sexual abuse. [5]
In March 2000, a cross-sectional study of students in the 11th grade of eight higher secondary schools in Goa found that "Coercive sex had been experienced by approximately 6% of adolescents." [6] The pupils affected by this experienced higher rates of substance abuse, poorer academic performance, as well as poor mental and physical health. [6]
In The New York Times , Stephen Castle documented: [7]
The very nature of boarding schools — closed environments in which teachers can wield enormous power — can make them attractive to child abusers. But in previous decades, parents were often reluctant to challenge teachers’ authority, said Alan Collins, principal lawyer at Slater & Gordon, which represented the former Aldwickbury student. He has 30 to 40 more cases pending against schools across the country. [7]
Since 2012, "425 people have been accused of carrying out sexual attacks at UK boarding schools". [8]
In the United States, "roughly 290,000 students experienced some sort of physical sexual abuse by a public school employee from 1991 to 2000—a single decade." [1]
A federal report estimated that in the state of California, "422,000 California public-school students would be victims before graduation". [9]
The United States Department of Education withheld US$4 million from Chicago Public Schools "for what federal officials say is a failure to protect students from sexual abuse." [10]
In Zimbabwe, a 2001 study found that 70% of the time, Sexual intercourse through physical abuse was present by teacher perpetrators in primary schools, with 98% of the victims being females. [11]
This study investigated the prevalence of child sexual abuse among day secondary school pupils in Gweru, Zimbabwe. The sample comprised 268 secondary pupils (50% female; mean age=15.42, standard deviation=1.376). Data were collected by administering the Child Abuse Screening Tool Children's Version (ICAST-C). The study found an overall prevalence rate of 56.3%, with no significant gender differences. Both non-contact and contact forms of sexual abuse were prevalent.
In May 2020, a cross sectional study was carried out amongst male students in secondary schools across Ibadan, Nigeria. It was reported in the study that about 18.9% of the lot was forced to watch pornographic contents, 8.1% were touched or mishandled sexually and about 54.1% were raped. [12]
The Federal Capital Territory Administration in July 2019, dismissed 2 male teachers of a secondary school for allegedly molesting some visually impaired female students at Jabi, Abuja. [13] It was reported that they would drug the students and lure them to hotels and carry out such deeds. [14]
The Nigeria Journal of pediatrics also recorded that, of 1558 students that were examined, the proportion of females and males that were sexually assaulted in a secondary school in Obio/ Akpor LGA at Rivers state were 47.4% and 24.9% respectively. [15]
Primary prevention has been identified as a priority in challenging sexual violence, but there is a lack of understanding around what primary prevention is and is not. Although increasing knowledge or awareness of sexual assault may be a feature of primary prevention, it is not a sufficient outcome. Primary prevention must also change behaviours. Some work has been done on identifying the elements required for effective primary prevention. These include comprehensiveness, community engagement, theory-driven programming, contextualised programming, and evaluation. [16]
By 1988, prevention programs and materials with regard to school sexual abuse came into vogue. [17] Problems associated with these, however, include "emphasizing a simple solution to a complex social problem and contributing to victim blaming." [17]
Despite the prevalence of these prevention programs and materials, multiple studies have demonstrated that "teachers use programs spasmodically and selectively, omitting the essential concepts relating to children's rights". [18]
Sexual assault is an act in which one intentionally sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their will. It is a form of sexual violence that includes child sexual abuse, groping, rape, drug facilitated sexual assault, and the torture of the person in a sexual manner.
Some victims of rape or other sexual violence incidents are male. It is estimated that approximately one in six men experienced sexual abuse during childhood. Historically, rape was thought to be, and defined as, a crime committed solely against females. This belief is still held in some parts of the world, but rape of males is now commonly criminalized and has been subject to more discussion than in the past.
Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC) defines the “umbrella” of crimes and activities that involve inflicting sexual abuse on to a child as a financial or personal opportunity. Commercial Sexual Exploitation consists of forcing a child into prostitution, sex trafficking, early marriage, child sex tourism and any other venture of exploiting children into sexual activities. According to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the lack of reporting the crime and “the difficulties associated with identifying and measuring victims and perpetrators” has made it almost impossible to create a national estimate of the prevalence of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in the United States. There is an estimated one million children that are exploited for commercial sex globally; of the one million children that are exploited, the majority are girls.
Rape by gender classifies types of rape by the sex and gender of both the rapist and the victim. This scope includes both rape and sexual assault more generally. Most research indicates that rape affects women disproportionately, with the majority of people convicted being men; however, since the broadening of the definition of rape in 2012 by the FBI, more attention is being given to male rape, including females raping males.
Statistics on rape and other acts of sexual assault are commonly available in industrialized countries, and have become better documented throughout the world. Inconsistent definitions of rape, different rates of reporting, recording, prosecution and conviction for rape can create controversial statistical disparities, and lead to accusations that many rape statistics are unreliable or misleading.
Sexual abuse or sex abuse, also referred to as molestation, is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using force or by taking advantage of another. Molestation often refers to an instance of sexual assault against a small child, whereas sexual abuse is a term used for a persistent pattern of sexual assaults.
Domestic violence occurs across the world, in various cultures, and affects people across society, at all levels of economic status; however, indicators of lower socioeconomic status have been shown to be risk factors for higher levels of domestic violence in several studies. In the United States, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics in 1995, women reported a six times greater rate of intimate partner violence than men. However, studies have found that men are much less likely to report victimization in these situations.
Teen dating violence is the physical, sexual, or psychological / emotional abuse within a dating relationship among adolescents. Intimate partner violence (IPV) has been a well examined and documented phenomenon in adults; however, there has not been nearly as much study on violence in adolescent dating relationships, and it is therefore not as well understood. The research has mainly focused on Caucasian youth, and, as of 2013, there are no studies which focus specifically on IPV in adolescent same-sex relationships.
Intimate partner sexual violence (IPSV) deals with sexual violence within the context of domestic violence. Intimate partner sexual violence is defined by any unwanted sexual contact or activity by an intimate partner in order to control an individual through fear, threats, or violence. Women are the primary victims of this type of violence.
One of the most common forms of sexual violence around the world is that which is perpetrated by an intimate partner, leading to the conclusion that one of the most important risk factors for people in terms of their vulnerability to sexual assault is being married or cohabiting with a partner. Other factors influencing the risk of sexual violence include:
Surveys of victims of crime have been undertaken in many cities and countries, using a common methodology to aid comparability, and have generally included questions on sexual violence. The United Nations has conducted extensive surveys to determine the level of sexual violence in different societies. According to these studies, the percentage of women reporting having been a victim of sexual assault ranges from less than 2% in places such as La Paz, Bolivia (1.4%), Gaborone, Botswana (0.8%), Beijing, China (1.6%), and Manila, Philippines (0.3%), to 5% or more in Istanbul, Turkey (6.0%), Buenos Aires, Argentina (5.8%), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (8.0%), and Bogota, Colombia (5.0%).
Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in sexual activities with a child, indecent exposure, child grooming, and child sexual exploitation, such as using a child to produce child pornography.
In common law jurisdictions, statutory rape is nonforcible sexual activity in which one of the individuals is below the age of consent. Although it usually refers to adults engaging in sexual contact with minors under the age of consent, it is a generic term, and very few jurisdictions use the actual term statutory rape in the language of statutes. In statutory rape, overt force or threat is usually not present. Statutory rape laws presume coercion because a minor or mentally disabled adult is legally incapable of giving consent to the act.
In the United States, each state and territory sets the age of consent either by statute or the common law applies, and there are several federal statutes related to protecting minors from sexual predators. Depending on the jurisdiction, the legal age of consent is between 16 and 18. In some places, civil and criminal laws within the same state conflict with each other.
Research published from 2000 to 2020 illustrates increased prevalence rates of sexual violence against people with intellectual disabilities, compared to the general population.:61 The World Health Organization (WHO) funded a study which concluded that 15% of the adult population worldwide in 2012 had a disability, putting them at increased risk of physical, sexual, and intimate partner violence. Of that 15%, 6.1% had intellectual disability with 5.5% experiencing sexual violence. In another 2012 report, the WHO found that worldwide, children with intellectual disabilities experienced a 4.6 times greater risk of sexual violence than those without disability.
Charol Shakeshaft is an educational researcher noted for her studies on sexual abuse of students by school staff. She co-authored a four-year study on sexual abuse at school, which first appeared in March 1995, in the educational journal Phi Delta Kappan. Shakeshaft was chair of the Educational Leadership Department at Virginia Commonwealth University until 2017.
Child sexual abuse in Nigeria is an offence under several sections of chapter 21 of the country's criminal code. The age of consent is 18.
Girl child labour in Nigeria refers to the high incidence in this nation of girls aged 5–14 who are involved in economic activities outside education and leisure. The prevalence of girl child labour in Nigeria is largely due to household economic status, but other factors include: the educational status of parents, the presence of peer pressure, and high societal demand for domestic help and sex workers. Additionally, in many rural and Muslim communities in Northern Nigeria, children are sometimes asked to aid religiously secluded women or mothers in running errands.
Child sexual abuse prevention programs are programs designed to lower the incidence of sexual abuse amongst those that access them. Programs can be provided to children and young people, those employed in childcare, people who would have otherwise have abused a young person, and situations where abuse can take place.
A juvenile sex crime is defined as a legally proscribed sexual crime committed without consent by a minor under the age of 18. The act involves coercion, manipulation, a power imbalance between the perpetrator and victim, and threats of violence. The sexual offenses that fall under juvenile sex crimes range from non-contact to penetration. The severity of the sexual assault in the crime committed is often the amount of trauma and/or injuries the victim has suffered. Typically within these crimes, female children are the majority demographic of those targeted and the majority of offenders are male. Juvenile sex offenders are different than adult sex offenders in a few ways, as captured by National Incident Based Reporting System: they are more likely to be committed in school, offend in groups and against acquaintances, target young children as victims, and to have a male victim, whereas they are less likely than their adult counterpart to commit rape.
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