In the European Union, child sexual abuse is subject to a directive. This directive deals with several forms of sexual abuse of children, especially commercial sexual exploitation of children. History
Child sexual abuse has gained public attention since the 1970s and has become one of the most high-profile crimes. While sexual use of children by adults has been present throughout history, public interest in prevention has tended to fluctuate. Initially, concern centered around children under the age of ten, but over time, advocates have attracted attention toward the sexual abuse of children between the ages of 11 and 17. Up until the 1930s, the psychological impact of sexual abuse was not emphasized, instead emphasis was placed on the physical harm or the childs reputation. Widespread public awareness of childrens sexual abuse did not occur until the 1970s in the West. Early writings
The first published work dedicated specifically to child sexual abuse appeared in France in 1857: Medical-Legal Studies of Sexual Assault (Etude Médico-Légale sur les Attentats aux Mœurs), by Auguste Ambroise Tardieu, the noted French pathologist and pioneer of forensic medicine. Public concern
Child sexual abuse became a public issue in the 1970s and 1980s. Prior to this point in time, sexual abuse remained rather secretive and socially unspeakable. Studies on child molestation were nonexistent until the 1920s and the first national estimate of the number of child sexual abuse cases was published in 1948. By 1968 44 out of 50 U.S. states had enacted mandatory laws that required physicians to report cases of suspicious child abuse.
Pacific
According to UNICEF, nearly half of reported rape victims in Papua New Guinea are under 15 years of age and 13% are under 7 years of age while a report by ChildFund Australia citing former Parliamentarian Dame Carol Kidu stated 50% of those seeking medical help after rape are under 16, 25% are under 10 and 10% are under 8.Additionally, a study found that men with a history of victimization, especially having been raped or otherwise sexually coerced themselves, were more likely than otherwise to have participated in both single-perpetrator and multiple-perpetrator non-partner rape. 57·5% (587/1022) of men who raped a non-partner committed their first rape as teenagers. United States and Europe
Child sexual abuse occurs frequently in Western society, although the rate of prevalence can be difficult to determine. Research in North America has concluded that approximately 15% to 25% of women and 5% to 15% of men were sexually abused when they were children. In the UK, a 2010 study estimated prevalence at about 5% for boys and 18% for girls (not dissimilar to a 1985 study that estimated about 8% for boys and 12% for girls). More than 23,000 incidents were recorded by the UK police between 2009 and 2010. Girls were six times more likely to be assaulted than boys with 86% of attacks taking place against them. Barnardos charity estimates that two thirds of victims in the United Kingdom are girls and one third are boys. Barnardos is concerned that boy victims may be overlooked.