It is now recognised that sexual abuse does not even have to involve physicality to be extraordinarily damaging to a child and the future adult they will become. It can be an older sibling or another child who abuses you. In fact definitions of child sexual abuse have recently been updated.įirst of all, sexual abuse does not have to be between a child and a ‘grownup’.
It’s important to understand what qualifies as sexual abuse before dismissing an experience you might have had as ‘not a big deal’. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimates that 7.5% of British adults experienced some form of sexual abuse before the age of 16.Īnd real rates might be higher, given that it’s also thought around a third of children abused by an adult tell no one.
Suspect you were sexually abused as a child? You are far from alone.
