ABSTRACT
The exact incidence of child sexual victimization is unknown. Reported estimates of occurrences vary from 1:4 adolescent females having experienced some form of sexual misuse before adulthood (Woodling et al., 1981) to 1:1,000 in the total adult female population having sustained sexual maltreatment (Cantwell, 1981). In 1982, approximately 23,000 case reports of child sexual abuse were submitted to the American Humane Association. These data as well as more recent information refute the myth that the sexual abuse of children is the result of acts perpetrated by strangers (Finkelhor, 1984). Ongoing studies poignantly validate data reflecting the vast number of perpetrators who are family members of the child. James, Womack, and Strauss reported in their study on child sexual abuse cases identified by family practitioners and pediatricians, that the majority of their cases were incestuous in nature (James et al., 1978).
