While a disclosure of sexual abuse may feel isolating, remember that neither you nor your child are alone in this experience. In fact, 1 in 3 girls and 1 in 5 boys will be victims of sexual abuse before their 18th birthday, and healing from sexual abuse is absolutely possible with guidance and support. The good news is that despite a 2 percent rise in sexual abuse cases in 2012, there has been a steady decline since the early 1990s, which correlates with the growing trend in public awareness of child abuse. Early prevention efforts in schools and communities that educated adults about the risk of sexual abuse and children about “personal safety” had an enormous effect on public awareness.

Over the past decade, survivors, caregivers, professionals and concerned community members have shed the shame that often surrounds child sexual abuse, speaking out to share their stories, empower fellow survivors and demand community action to better support survivors and prevent abuse. As we shine light into dark places, perpetrators are losing their greatest advantages: sexual abuse thrives in silence, secrecy and denial. The following statistics shed light on the scope of the problem of childhood sexual abuse.