Picture of child sex abuse in U.S. society clouded by lack of data

Published: 2004-02-13

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The clergy child sex abuse crisis has thrown light on a major problem throughout the United States that is still much in the shadows. Child sex abuse is grossly underreported and underinvestigated, making a comprehensive national picture difficult to develop, according to experts researching the issue. But, they added, it is a national problem that cuts across professions and organizations dealing with children. Most abusers are not strangers but individuals who are well-known to children, including relatives, friends and people in positions of trust, said experts interviewed by telephone by Catholic News Service. "As a ballpark figure, in excess of 200,000 children a year are sexually abused" in the United States, said David Finkelhor, director of the Crimes Against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire. Sid Johnson, president of the nonprofit Prevent Child Abuse America, said about 500,000 reports of child sex abuse are made yearly to state child prevention agencies. His organization estimates that 20 percent of women and 5 to 16 percent of men in the United States experienced sex abuse as minors.

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