Megans Law which was enacted in 1996 gives the public access to knowledge of sex offenders nationwide.Anne Hastings described these changes in attitudes towards child sexual abuse as "the beginning of one of historys largest social revolutions. "According to John Jay College of Criminal Justice professor B.J. Cling,

"By the early 21st century, the issue of child sexual abuse has become a legitimate focus of professional attention, while increasingly separated from second wave feminism ... As child sexual abuse becomes absorbed into the larger field of interpersonal trauma studies, child sexual abuse studies and intervention strategies have become degendered and largely unaware of their political origins in modern feminism and other vibrant political movements of the 1970s. One may hope that unlike in the past, this rediscovery of child sexual abuse that began in the 70s will not again be followed by collective amnesia. The institutionalization of child maltreatment interventions in federally funded centers, national and international societies, and a host of research studies (in which the United States continues to lead the world) offers grounds for cautious optimism. Nevertheless, as Judith Herman argues cogently, The systematic study of psychological trauma ... depends on the support of a political movement." Media reporting and its quality
Media reporting plays a crucial role in tackling the word-wide problem of child sexual abuse because it puts the issue on the public and political agenda. Media reporting can even contribute to the exposure and criminal investigation of sexual abuse cases in institutions.
Reports of child sexual abuse were associated with a 49% increase to LSCL-33 scores, 11% higher than the associated increase of self-reported physical abuse. Reports of both physical and sexual abuse were associated with a 113% increase. Male and female victims were similarly affected.Navalta et al. (2006) found that the self-reported math Scholastic Aptitude Test scores of their sample of women with a history of repeated child sexual abuse were significantly lower than the self-reported math SAT scores of their non-abused sample. Because the abused subjects verbal SAT scores were high, they hypothesized that the low math SAT scores could "stem from a defect in hemispheric integration." They also found a strong association between short-term memory impairments for all categories tested (verbal, visual, and global) and the duration of the abuse. Incest
Incest between a child or adolescent and a related adult is known as child incestuous abuse, and has been identified as the most widespread form of child sexual abuse with a highly significant capacity to damage the young person. One researcher stated that more than 70% of abusers are immediate family members or someone very close to the family. Another researcher stated that about 30% of all perpetrators of sexual abuse are related to their victim, 60% of the perpetrators are family acquaintances, like a neighbor, babysitter or friend and 10% of the perpetrators in child sexual abuse cases are strangers.