Understanding Sexual Abuse: Care first webinar

In this article, Care first offers advice and information on understanding sexual abuse, with a free webinar taking place on Monday 5 February.  

What is it?

Sexual abuse is sexual behaviour or a sexual act forced upon a woman, man or child without their consent. Sexual abuse includes abuse of a woman, man or child by a man, woman or child. Sexual abuse is an act of violence which the attacker uses against someone they perceive as weaker than them. (https://frg.org.uk/get-help-and-advice/a-z-of-terms/sexual-abuse/).
When we think about sexual abuse our first reaction is to think about abuse against children. We don't know exactly how many children in the UK experience sexual abuse. However, research with 2,275 young people aged 11-17 about their experiences of sexual abuse suggests around 1 in 20 children in the UK have been sexually abused. (NSPCC 2021).

The Crime Survey for England and Wales estimated that 2.1 million people aged 16 years and over (1.4 million women and 751,000 men) experienced domestic abuse in the year ending March 2023. There was no significant change in the prevalence of domestic abuse experienced in the last year compared with the previous year. These figures are staggering, particularly when you consider that these are just the reported cases. As we know, because of shame, fear, embarrassment, fear of not being believed and stigma means many, many more cases go unreported.

What is the most important thing to know about sexual abuse?

The most important thing to remember is that sexual abuse isn't your fault. The only person in the wrong is the person who assaulted you. It wasn’t because of something you did or said, what you wore, that you wore make up or that perhaps you had had a drink; it was because the alleged abuser decided to assert some power over you, either mentally or physically. And while the journey to recovery from sexual assault can feel awful, intimidating, frightening, you don't have to go it alone: there are people available to help and support you.

Myths about sexual abuse

Myth: Abuse is in some way the victims fault Myth: It is only young girls who are at risk Myth: It is only men who abuse
Myth: It only happen to kids in care
Myth: Abusers are just dirty old men
Myth: It takes years to “groom” a victim
Myth: Taking “suggestive/explicit” photos is just a bit of fun
Myth: It only happens in certain communities/cultures
Myth: It means they really love me

These myths are so wrong, but abusers may use them to attempt to provide a rational for their behaviour.
These are often the beliefs of people generally, who do not fully understand what sexual abuse is.
In some cases, these beliefs are perpetuated by those around them who believe that the myths are actually facts.

Statistics on offenders:

• 1 in 2 rapes against women are carried out by their partners or ex-partners
• 91% of people prosecuted for sexual offences are aged 18+
• 6 in 7 rapes against women are carried out by someone they know

(Rape Crisis England and Wales)

How many people are raped, sexually assaulted and sexually abused?

• 1 in 4 women have been raped or sexually assaulted as an adult which amounts to 6.54 million in total
• 1 in 6 children have been sexually abused
• 1 in 18 men have been raped or sexually assaulted as an adult which amounts to 1.34 million men in total
• 68,109 rapes were recorded by police between July 2022 and June 2023
• Just 2 in 100 rapes recorded by police between July 2022 and June 2023 resulted in someone being charged that same year, let alone convicted

(Rape crisis service England)

What to do if you have been raped or sexually assaulted recently

If you have been recently raped or sexually assaulted, you can go to your local SARC. SARCs can offer confidential medical and practical support to people who have recently been raped or sexually assaulted. If you think you might want to report to the police, you can also have a forensic medical exam.
Reporting this type of offence takes real courage as there is often a fear in terms of “what happens next”. There are thoughts about “will I be believed, will they take me seriously, will they think it was my fault”, however, 5 in 6 women and 4 in 5 men won’t report it to the police. They might not tell the police because:

• 40% say they would be too embarrassed
• 38% said they didn’t think the police could help
• 34% said they felt too ashamed and embarrassed.

Join the webinar 

If you would like to view the webinar on ‘Understanding Sexual Abuse’, this is being delivered live on Monday 5 February 2024 at 12 noon - 12.30pm, please register for this session here.

If you are unable to join the webinar live, a recording of the session can be accessed using the same link above, shortly after the webinar has taken place.

Specialist support 

Care first can provide immediate in the moment support with members of our Counselling Team. We can also give useful information regarding other sources of specialist help available.

• Students can access Care first from the WLV Student Life Connect platform.
• Staff can access Care first from the Staff Wellbeing Hub.

If you are over the age of 16, living in England & Wales, and have been affected by any form of sexual violence or abuse, specialist and confidential support is available 24/7. The Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Line is open 24/7 every day of the year - Call free on 0808 500 2222 or visit the website and start an online chat. 

More specialist support is available from: 

• Safeline: 01926 402 498
• The Survivors Trust Helpline: 0808 801 0818
• Childline: 0800 1111
• The sexual abuse support campaign.