One in 10 South African boys and almost 15% of girls have experienced sexual violence before the age of 17. Children are exposed to violence in the home and at school‚ mostly at the hands of adults but also as victims of other children‚ according to findings reported in The Lancet Global Health. Of those who reported sexual abuse to researchers‚ led by University of Cape Town psychologist Dr Catherine Ward‚ 12% reported being injured in the incident. Girls reported more direct contact abuse than boys‚ and researchers found this included abuse by a known adult‚ an attempt to force them into sexual intercourse‚ other non-consensual acts‚ or emotional abuse. By contrast‚ boys reported the most prevalent form of abuse was exposure abuse‚ such as exposure to pornography. After gathering evidence from children in 5‚631 households‚ the researchers found that physical abuse‚ emotional abuse‚ neglect and family violence were all associated with sexual victimisation. Children were more likely...
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