Mental health articles

Unidentified offenders of child sexual abuse The previous analysis suggested that the vast majority of offenders do not come to the attention of authorities. Thus, it is critical to understand how identified offenders compare to the much larger population of unidentified offenders. The purpose of this section is to present the minimal information available on unidentified offenders. To do so, retrospective surveys—which are the only studies that currently provide information on a representative sample of unidentified offenders—are reviewed. Even then, the focus of these studies is on the victims, and little information is available concerning the identity of the offenders. Nonetheless, the minimal available literature is reviewed next. Gender: The first random studies suggested that 95% or more of offenders were male (Russell, 1983; Wyatt, 1985). In Russell’s (1986) retrospective community prevalence study on females, only 2% of abusive parents and 5% of intrafamilial abusers were female. Overall, 2% of all offenders in her sample were female. Males, however, are at greater risk to be sexually abused by females. In the Los Angeles Times Poll’s survey (Finkelhor, Hotaling, Lewis, & Smith, 1990), 17% of male victims, as compared to 1% of female victims, were abused by females. Age of offender: The stereotypical image of a perpetrator is of an older man with a sexual attraction to younger children. The empirical literature, however, suggests that the stereotype about age is not supported empirically. Instead, juvenile offenders account for 20% to 50% of all reported offenders (Davis & Leitenberg, 1987; Fehrehbach, Smith, Monastersky, & Deisher, 1986). In Russell’s (1983) sample, the one retrospective study in which approximate ages of unidentified offenders are available, 39% of all offenders were less than 20 years of age.7 Race of offender: Only two known random prevalence studies, those by Wyatt (1985) and Russell (1983), provide information on the race of the offender. Because Wyatt’s (1985) study was stratified by race, however, her findings cannot be extrapolated to a larger population. Russell’s study found that Caucasian offenders were over-represented.8 Whereas 69% of offenders were Caucasian, 57% of the population in San Francisco in 1980 was Caucasian. Education of offender: Russell’s (1983) study also provides information concerning the education of the offender. Of the incidents in which the victim knew the educational history of the adult offender (i.e., an offender older than 21 years of age), which included 54% of incidents committed by adults, 32% of offenders had less than a high school education. Relationship of offender to victim: Perhaps one of the most disconcerting findings concerning child sexual abuse is the pervasiveness of its threat. This pervasiveness is not only demonstrated by the sheer numbers of children who are sexually abused, but also by the threat to children by virtually all groups of males with whom they come into contact. It would be encouraging if one group of offenders such as strangers or fathers were over-represented. If this were the case, prevention measures could target these high-risk groups. Regretfully, random retrospective prevalence studies find that offenders have many different types of filial and nonfilial relationships with victims. Approximately 30% of child sexual abuse is intrafamilial (Tables 7-1 and 7-2). This abuse is divided rather equally into abuse by fathers, uncles, siblings, and cousins, with fathers and uncles accounting for slightly more of the abuse. Of the 70% of abuse that is extrafamilial, abuse by strangers accounts for only 11% to 21% of the abuse of females (Tables 6-1 and 6-2). The most prolific offender group is acquaintances, accounting for 28% to 33% of all abuse (Finkelhor et al., 1990; Russell, 1983). Indeed, 12% of all women in Russell’s study were abused by acquaintances. Yet, friends of the family, personal friends, dates, and strangers also frequently abuse. In Russell’s study, approximately 7% of all respondents were abused by strangers, 4% to 6% were abused by authority figures, family friends, and dates, and 3% were abused by friends. (Because the average victim suffered 1.8 assaults, victims could be abused in multiple categories.) Finally, the relationship of the offender to the victim varies by the race, ethnicity, and age of the victim. Not surprisingly, younger children are at greater risk than older children of intrafamilial abuse.9 Further, African American children may be at greater risk than Caucasian children of abuse by a stepfather, surrogate father, or cousin (Wyatt, 1985).

Tags: child, sexual abuse