Title

Study of Victims of Child Sexual Assault at a Tertiary Health Care Center in Western Maharashtra.

Authors

Priyanka G Bale, Rajesh C Dere, Hemant G Kukde, Narendra B Kumar

Abstract

Background: Reporting of child sexual assault cases is increasing day by day since the inception of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act 2012. Child sexual assault not only includes penetrative assault but also various other modes of assault like showing pornographic content, manipulation of genitals or making to do so, fingering, threatening, etc. This study aims to study these various modes of sexual assault in children and Genito anal injuries in relation to age and gender. Materials and Methods: A crosssectional descriptive study among 176 victims of the <18 years of age group with a history of sexual assault (natural and unnatural) was conducted. Results: Out of 176 victims, 148 (84.1%) were females, and the majority of victims 101 (57.4%) were between 13-18 years of age. In this study, we found various modes of assaults, fingering in 74 (42%), history of showing porn in 37(21%), oral stimulation in 55 (31.3%), history of threatening to life or serious injuries in 55.1% of cases. In 6–12-year, age group, most of the cases reported with history of threatening, history of force for touching the accused genitals and showing porn to the victims. Conclusion: Girls and boys are equally affected psycho-socially and physically by child sexual assault. The age group of 6-12 years is more vulnerable to child sexual assault/abuse as these are more approachable and easier to manipulate.

Keywords

Child Sexual Abuse, Threatening, Pornography, Genital Manipulation.