The prevalence and context of incest abuse in Finland☆Author links open overlay panelHeikkiSariolaAnttiUutela
https://doi.org/10.1016/0145-2134(96)00072-5
Get rights and content
Abstract
The prevalence and context of father-daughter incest was surveyed in Finland in connection with a larger study about physical and sexual child abuse in 1988. A random sample of 409 comprehensive school classes with about 9,000 15-year-olds were asked to fill out questionnaires anonymously. The majority (93%) responded in the privacy of the school nurse's office, the rest in their classrooms. Eighty-nine percent of the selected classes participated in the survey and the response rate of the students in those classes was 96%. Girls reporting sexual experiences with their father or stepfather was .5%. Girls reporting experiences with their biological father was .2% and 3.7% of the girls living with a stepfather reported sexual experiences with him. This survey shows that the feelings of the girls about their incestual experiences are overwhelmingly negative. The results are compared with prevalence estimates from the U.S. and the Nordic countries.
The incidence and prevalence of intrafamilial and extrafamilial sexual abuse of female children☆Author links open overlay panelDiana E.H.RussellPh.D.
https://doi.org/10.1016/0145-2134(83)90065-0
Get rights and content
Abstract
Data obtained from a random sample of 930 adult women in San Francisco provide the soundest basis heretofore available for estimating the prevalence of intrafamilial and extrafamilial sexual abuse of female children. This article describes the methodology of this survey, as well as some of the key findings. For example: 16% of these women reported at least one experience of intrafamilial sexual abuse before the age of 18 years; 12% reported at least one such experience before the age of 14 years; 31% reported at least one experience of extrafamilial sexual abuse before the age of 18 years; and 20% reported at least one such experience before the age of 14 years. When both categories of sexual abuse are combined, 38% reported at least one experience before the age of 18 years; and 28% reported at least one such experience before the age of 14 years. Only 2% of the cases of intrafamilial and 6% of the cases of extrafamilial child sexual abuse were ever reported to the police. A plea is made for the urgent need to recognize the magnitude of the problem of child sexual abuse, and to act to prevent it.