Child sexual abuse from strangers

Child sexual abuse from strangers One of the most frightening of all types of abuse is that by strangers. The fear, of
course, is that children will be accosted by strangers in the children’s neighborhoods
and will be abused, raped, and sometimes even murdered. The public seems to be
most concerned about this type of abuse, and prevention programs are often targeted
at this type of approach. The question is whether this stereotype of stranger abuse is
correct.
The answer is yes—and no. First, it is generally agreed that the vast majority of
abuse is perpetrated by a known other. Thus, while stranger abuse is a type to be
feared, as more than 7% of all female respondents in Russell’s (1983) sample were
victimized by strangers, it is only one of many types of abuse to be feared. As shown
in Table 6-2, both males and females are at approximately equal risk of abuse by a
stranger, a finding that is born out by the percentage of offenders who have a primary
sexual orientation towards young males (Frenzl & Lang, 1989). As such, stranger
abuse is definitely a prevalent form of abuse that deserves great concern.
The offender literature on this type of abuse bears out what is known historically
and through common sense. Offenders purposefully move into areas with children to target them for perpetration (Elliott, Browne, & Kolcoyne, 1995). Sometimes victims
are groomed; sometimes they are picked up off the street. Victims are targeted based
upon physical appearance, availability, and a sense of vulnerability (Conte, Wolf, &
Smith, 1989; Elliott et al., 1995).
The findings resulting from the author’s reanalysis of Russell’s (1983) data
appear to corroborate this literature. Girls abused by strangers were likely to be
approached in a number of ways, the most popular of which was while the child was
walking around or to or from school. A second popular type of approach was targeting
the child who was in a safe place (usually somewhere in her neighborhood). Indeed,
only 18% of stranger abuse was committed outside the child’s neighborhood. Also of
interest, even though we consider the youngest children to be at greatest danger from
abuse by a stranger, especially when walking around, almost half of the victims of
stranger abuse who were accosted while walking around were over the age of 13.
Hence, this type of abuse represents a significant risk even to adolescents. Further, it
is often a more severe type of abuse, as approximately half of all abuse included
penetration, and force or threat was used in 70% of all cases. A weapon was used in
11% of cases and physical assault occurred in 24% of cases.
The primary methods by which strangers approach children are discussed briefly
next. Categories are listed in order by their prevalence, from most to least prevalent
as found in Russell’s (1983) study.
Walking to or from locations other than school: In the majority of incidents in
this category, most of which involved some type of penetration or its attempt, victims
were approached on foot. One-third of these incidents involved multiple perpetrators.
Most perpetrators simply grabbed their victims while they walked on the street, most
often after sunset, whereas another smaller group of victims was actively followed.
A few victims were approached by perpetrators in cars. In those instances in which the
victims refused the ride, they were physically dragged into the car.
Walking to or from school: Of the children abused while walking either to or
from school, most were approached on foot. Perpetrators who approached by car
either asked for directions or asked the children if they wanted a ride. If the children
did not agree to the ride, they were forcibly dragged into the car. Older adolescents
were almost as likely as younger children to be at risk of this type of abuse.
Safe place: Children in this group were abused in what could be considered a
safe place—in their own yard, in the park, at the beach, at the community pool, and
in the countryside. None of these instances involved penetration or its attempt,
although one was life-threatening. Most incidents involved children under the age of
eight and most perpetrators were much older than their victims.
Movies: A small number of victims were approached in a movie theater.
Perpetrators either purposefully sat beside their victims and fondled them or simply
placed the children on their laps. This type of abuse was typically less severe, but the
victims were uniformly young, ranging in age from six to nine.
Hitchhiking: A particularly dangerous type of abuse occurred when the victims
hitchhiked. In all instances some type of penetration occurred or was attempted, and
victims were often physically assaulted, even by multiple perpetrators.
Other: The final group of stranger abuse is the inevitable “other” group, Victims
in this group were approached by a taxi driver, Santa Claus, while standing in a crowd, on a subway, while sitting in a parked car waiting for mother to return,
during military invasions, and by fake officials.