A pamphlet developed by the National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC), What Is Child Sexual Abuse?, highlights various forms of sexual victimization and their distinctive signs and symptoms. Targeted to media professionals, the pamphlet summarizes common behavioral red flags displayed by sexually abused children. A checklist of warning signs to help with the detection and identification are also provided, including:
- Bodily signs (i.e., bedwetting, stomachaches)
- Emotional signs (i.e., fear, sadness, acting out)
- Sexual signs (i.e., inappropriate sexual behavior)
- Verbal signs (i.e., narrative accounts of non-age-appropriate sexual activities)
The brochure illustrates characteristic behaviors exhibited by child sexual abuse perpetrators and cites common factors influencing children’s ability to disclose sexual abuse. Finally, data on the prevalence of this problem is presented and briefly discussed.
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