Sexual Abuse

Sexual Abuse: The employment, use, persuasion, inducement, enticement, or coercion of any child to engage in, or assist any other person to engage in, any sexually explicit conduct or any simulation of such conduct for the purpose of producing any visual depiction of such conduct; or rape, and in cases of caretaker or inter-familial relationships, statutory rape, molestation, prostitution, or other form of sexual exploitation of children, or incest with children.

Preschool (0-5 years)

Common	Uncommon
Sexual language relating to differences in body parts, bathroom talk, pregnancy, and birth	Discussion of sexual acts
Self-fondling at home and in public	Sexual contact experiences with other children
Showing and looking at private body parts	Masturbation unresponsive to redirection or limits
	Inserting objects in genital openings

School Age (6 to 12 years)

Common	Uncommon
Questions about menstruation, pregnancy, sexual behavior	Discussion of explicit sexual acts
“Experimenting” with same-age children, including kissing, fondling, exhibitionism, and role-playing	Asking adults or peers to participate in explicit sexual acts
Masturbation at home or other private places	Masturbating in public or excessively to bleeding
	Inserting objects in genital openings

Adolescence (13 to 16 years)

Common	Uncommon
Questions about decision-making, social relationships, and sexual customs	Sexual interest in much younger children
Masturbation in private	Aggression in touching others’ genitals
Experimenting between adolescents of the same age, including open-mouth kissing, fondling, and body rubbing	Asking adults to participate in explicit sexual acts
Voyeuristic behaviors	The use of force, aggression, or drugs to obtain compliance
Sexual intercourse (more than half of 11th graders )
Oral sex (approximately one-third of 15-17 year olds) 5, 4

Continue to Sexual Abuse: Educating Yourself

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