A Review on the Sociodemographic Profile of the Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse in India

Abstract

Child sexual abuse is a gross human rights violation and the worst form of abuse against children. Child sexual abuse is not just a private issue but a public health menace and has long-term psychological implications on children into their adolescence and adulthood. The primary goal of this paper was to conduct a systematic analysis of the sociodemographic profile of victims, rather than to critically evaluate each study, and to provide a systematic review of the available literature. The sociodemographic variables included in the writing of this paper are age, gender, socio-economic status of the victim, state-wise reports of CSA, and perpetrators of sexual abuse. Data consisted of secondary sources that included journal papers, government reports, and newspaper articles. The researchers examined the predictors of child sexual abuse. Age was an important indicator of sexual abuse as the majority of the adults interviewed were abused as children and adolescents. In most studies conducted, girls experienced higher rates of sexual abuse than boys. Although poverty was a strong predictor of sexual abuse, the disintegration of joint family to nuclear families and both parents working also puts children at risk for sexual abuse. In most metropolitan cities reviewed in the study, child sexual abuse was very high. A common misunderstanding among offenders is that having sexual intercourse with children would cure them of HIV/AIDS and STDs. Thus, this paper examined research published in the last decade on the sociodemographic profile of survivors of child sexual abuse.