Los abusos sexuales de menores: concepto, prevalencia y efectos

Resumen

En este artículo hacemos una revisión de los abusos sexuales. Para ello tenemos en cuenta la literatura internacional sobre este tema y una investigación realizada por nosotros en España. En dicha investigación entrevistamos a 2000 personas, una muestra representativa estructurada por comunidades autónomas, edad y sexo. Todas las investigaciones demuestran: que los agresores suelen ser varones, una alta prevalencia de los abusos sexuales, tanto en chicas (entre el 20% y el 25/%) y en chicos (entre el 10% y el 15%), que éstos se repiten en casi la mitad de los casos y que tienen efectos importantes a corto plazo (en aproximadamente el 70% de los casos) y a largo plazo (en aproximadamente el 30% de los casos). Todo ello hace que sea necesaria y urgente la prevención, llevando a cabo programas con padres, profesionales y niños.

Abstract

To study the incidence of child abuse in Spain, a representative sample of 2,000 people structured according to autonomous communities, age and sex were interviewed. The data shows that: aggressors are usually male; there is a high prevalence of sexual abuse to girls (20%-25%) and boys (10%-15%); in almost half of the cases abuse is recurrent and has important short and long term effects (in about 70% and 30% of the cases, respectively). Thus, prevention programmes involving parents, children, and professionals are both necessary and urgent.

Extended Summary

The sexual abuse of minors has been a forgotten topic for centuries. In fact, even today only a small part of abuses committed are reported and it is calculated that almost half of the cases go undetected. However, despite the fact that the silence has only been partly broken, since the seventies much research has been carried out at an international level. This has repeatedly shown that there is a high prevalence of sexual abuse of minors—both girls and boys—which in almost half of the cases is repeated, and which have important short and long term effects.

For our part, we have carried out a research study in Spain, interviewing a representative sample of 2,000 people, structured according to autonomous communities, sex, and age. Results also revealed a high prevalence of sexual abuse of minors (23% of girls and 15% of boys had suffered abuse before the age of 17). This abuse was almost always committed by young males and middleaged adults, either strangers, or persons known to the victim, or relatives. Another extremely worrying fact is that in an important number of cases the abuse was repeated. Therefore, in almost half of the cases, we are not only unsuccessful in preventing abuse, but also unable to avoid it being repeated.

The short and long term effects of abuse, as shown in different studies and also in ours, are important. 70% of victims reported that they suffered short term negative effects, such as anxiety, lack of confidence and hostility to the aggressor, fear, etc. Approximately 30% of victims confirmed that effects continued over time. They were also able to relate the experience of abuse with depression, anxiety, guilty feelings, school failure, running away from home, delinquency, sexual precocity, prostitution, fear of sexuality, etc. In relation to possible long term effects, it is neverthless important to point out that we cannot establish cause-effect relationships with certainty, but rather repeated associations.

These and other data lead us to defend the need to set up preventive programmes with parents, children, and professionals. Specific community measures are also necessary.

Palabras clave:

• Abuso sexual
• prevalencia
• consecuencias
• prevención

Keywords:

• Child abuse
• prevalence
• consequences
• prevention