Rise in reports of child sex abuse by women
Charity claims there has been 132 per cent increase in reports of female sex abuse on children
Monday, 09, Nov 2009 12:39
By Sarah Garrod.
There has been a dramatic rise in the number of children reporting sexual abuse by women, according to the charity ChildLine.
A study out today found there has been a 132 per cent rise in reports of female sex abuse to the charity's phone line over the last five years, while claims against men only rose 27 per cent.
ChildLine said one reason for the rise could be the increased number of boys who were calling the charity, adding that boys were more likely than girls to say they had been abused by their mother, while girls were more likely to say they had been abused by their father.
Over the last year, ChildLine counsellors heard from 2,142 children who said they had been abused by a woman; this is almost a quarter of calls where the abuser's gender could be identified. They counselled 6,623 children who said they had been abused by a male.
Esther Rantzen CBE, president of ChildLine says: "Sexual abuse is the secret crime that has been described as an attack on a child's soul.
"This report reveals that ChildLine, by listening to the direct and authentic voices of abused children has shattered common myths about sexual abuse. It does not only happen to girls, as many people believe, it happens to boys, too.
"Mothers can sometimes sexually abuse their sons. And the report found that when girls are sexually abused, by far the most common perpetrator is not a stepfather, as many believe, but the biological father."
The report found girls were over ten times more likely to say they had been sexually abused by a male than by a female. Boys more often said they had been sexually abused by a female.
Head of ChildLine Sue Minto added: "Most sex abuse calls to ChildLine come from girls saying they were assaulted by a male. But a growing number of callers now say they were sexually abused by a female. This may be partly because more boys are calling us than previously.
"Many would find it shocking that any woman - let alone a mother - can sexually assault a child. But they do."