NSPCC: More children telling ChildLine about female sex abusers
More children telling ChildLine about female sex abusers
ChildLine has seen a large rise in the number of children reporting sexual assaults by women, the helpline reveals today.
New figures show a 132 per cent rise in reports of female sex abuse to the helpline over the last five years. Reports of sex abuse by males have risen more slowly, by 27 per cent in the same period.
Last year, ChildLine counsellors heard from 2,142 children who said they had been abused by a female. This is almost a quarter (24%) of calls where the abuser’s gender could be identified. They counselled 6,623 children who said they had been abused by a male.*
ChildLine heard from 1,311 children who said they had been sexually abused by their mother – 61 per cent of calls about female sex abuse. More than twice as many (2,972) said they had been sexually abused by their father – 45 per cent of calls about sex abuse by males.
Esther Rantzen CBE, President of ChildLine says: “Sexual abuse is the secret crime that has been described as an attack on a child’s soul. It is a tragedy that so many children ring ChildLine reporting this crime, but at least when they ring we can counsel and protect them. “
“This report reveals that ChildLine, by listening to the direct and authentic voices of abused children has shattered common myths about sexual abuse. It does not only happen to girls, as many people believe, it happens to boys, too. Mothers can sometimes sexually abuse their sons. And the report found that when girls are sexually abused, by far the most common perpetrator is not a stepfather, as many believe, but the biological father.”
The report found that girls were over ten times more likely to say they had been sexually abused by a male than by a female. Boys more often said they had been sexually abused by a female.
Boys were more likely than girls to say they had been abused by their mother while girls were more likely to say they had been abused by their father.
One 14-year-old boy told a counsellor: “Mum comes into my room, undresses me and makes me have sex with her.”
An 11-year-old girl said: “Last night my mum came in from the pub drunk. She asked me to take my clothes off and tried to put a rubber thing inside me. My mum is drinking a lot since she broke up with dad. She’s in the pub now.”
Another girl, aged ten, said: “My dad has been raping me and my sister. My mum died when I was four. I feel bad when he is abusing me."
Head of ChildLine Sue Minto says: “Many would find it shocking that any woman - let alone a mother - can sexually assault a child. But they do.
“Sexually abused children are often driven to despair because they don’t know who to tell. Even when they summon the courage to speak, they are scared no one will believe them. We have to listen to these children, take their concerns seriously and give them the protection and support they need.”
“The NSPCC is investing heavily in ChildLine, but it still can’t answer every child’s call. The Society is growing the service through public support of our Child’s Voice Appeal.”
New figures show a 132 per cent rise in reports of female sex abuse to the helpline over the last five years. Reports of sex abuse by males have risen more slowly, by 27 per cent in the same period.
Last year, ChildLine counsellors heard from 2,142 children who said they had been abused by a female. This is almost a quarter (24%) of calls where the abuser’s gender could be identified. They counselled 6,623 children who said they had been abused by a male.*
ChildLine heard from 1,311 children who said they had been sexually abused by their mother – 61 per cent of calls about female sex abuse. More than twice as many (2,972) said they had been sexually abused by their father – 45 per cent of calls about sex abuse by males.
Esther Rantzen CBE, President of ChildLine says: “Sexual abuse is the secret crime that has been described as an attack on a child’s soul. It is a tragedy that so many children ring ChildLine reporting this crime, but at least when they ring we can counsel and protect them. “
“This report reveals that ChildLine, by listening to the direct and authentic voices of abused children has shattered common myths about sexual abuse. It does not only happen to girls, as many people believe, it happens to boys, too. Mothers can sometimes sexually abuse their sons. And the report found that when girls are sexually abused, by far the most common perpetrator is not a stepfather, as many believe, but the biological father.”
The report found that girls were over ten times more likely to say they had been sexually abused by a male than by a female. Boys more often said they had been sexually abused by a female.
Boys were more likely than girls to say they had been abused by their mother while girls were more likely to say they had been abused by their father.
One 14-year-old boy told a counsellor: “Mum comes into my room, undresses me and makes me have sex with her.”
An 11-year-old girl said: “Last night my mum came in from the pub drunk. She asked me to take my clothes off and tried to put a rubber thing inside me. My mum is drinking a lot since she broke up with dad. She’s in the pub now.”
Another girl, aged ten, said: “My dad has been raping me and my sister. My mum died when I was four. I feel bad when he is abusing me."
Head of ChildLine Sue Minto says: “Many would find it shocking that any woman - let alone a mother - can sexually assault a child. But they do.
“Sexually abused children are often driven to despair because they don’t know who to tell. Even when they summon the courage to speak, they are scared no one will believe them. We have to listen to these children, take their concerns seriously and give them the protection and support they need.”
“The NSPCC is investing heavily in ChildLine, but it still can’t answer every child’s call. The Society is growing the service through public support of our Child’s Voice Appeal.”