Child sexual abuse is sexual activity with a child by an adult, an adolescent, or an older child. When any adult engages in sexual activity with a child, that is child sexual abuse. It is a crime in all 50 states. When sexual activity involves another child or an adolescent, it is not always so clear. Some kinds of sexual behavior among children might be natural explorations rather than abuse.
Statistics show that child sexual abuse occurs at an alarming rate.
At least one in five girls and one in seven boys have been sexually abused by the age of eighteen, according to most reliable studies of child sexual abuse in the United States. Sexual abusers are likely to be people we know, and could even be people we care about. But they're hardly ever like that. In 90 percent of child sexual abuse cases, the child knows and trusts the person who commits the abuse. They're neighbors, babysitters, ministers, teachers, coaches, or anyone else who has close contact with our children.