Adolescent Sexual Victimization

• DOI: 10.1177/1541204007312291
• Published date: 01 April 2008
• Date: 01 April 2008
• Author: Rachel E. Stein,Stacey D. Nofziger
• Subject Matter: Articles

158

Adolescent Sexual Victimization

Choice of Confidant and the

Failure of Authorities

Rachel E. Stein

Stacey D. Nofziger

The University of Akron

This study investigates the experience of sexual victimization among American youth. The

objective is to determine who adolescents tell of their victimization and whether the choice of

confidant influences the likelihood of the offender being arrested. Using data from the 1995

National Survey of Adolescents, the authors found that most adolescents do not turn to official

sources but instead tell family members and friends about their sexual victimization. Although

only 13% of sexual assault disclosures resulted in an arrest of the offender, arrest was more likely

to occur when the assault was initially reported to the victim’s mother. A much less common

choice of confidant was mandatory reporters, professionals in contact with children who are

required by law to report suspected and known child abuse. However, when mandatory

reporters were informed, they were not consistent in reporting the offense to officials. Therefore,

the authors suggest mandatory reporters are not offering the necessary support to adolescent

victims of sexual abuse.

Keywords: adolescent victimization; confidant; sexual abuse

The experience of sexual victimization is one that is much too common for adolescents

in the United States. In fact, of all sexual assaults reported to the police in 2000 and 2001,

67% of the females and 88% of the males were younger than age 18 years. Furthermore, of

all known adolescent victims of violent crimes, 52% were victims of sexual assaults

(Snyder & Sickmund, 2006). Other sources also demonstrate this is an overwhelming problem,

with a total of more than 1.4 million referrals of sexual abuse reported to Child Protective

Services (hereafter CPS) in 2003 (Karski, 1999). The prevalence of adolescent sexual

assault within society raises the question of whether these adolescents are confiding their

victimization to anyone, and if these confidants in turn are leading the adolescents to

authorities where legal action can be pursued.

Many cases of child sexual abuse that are referred to CPS are reported by professionals

rather than the victim (Warner-Rogers, Hansen, & Spieth, 1996). However, professionals

who are required to report child abuse often do not (Barksdale, 1989; Bensley et al., 2004;

Bolen, 2001; Kenny, 2001; Vulliamy & Sullivan, 2000). In fact, it is estimated that fewer than

one half of the cases of known sexual abuse are reported to CPS (Bolen, 2001). Even when

victims report their experience to a social service agency, they often feel uncomfortable

with the way they are treated by the individuals who work for CPS (McCourt & Peel, 1998).

In addition, reporting sexual abuse results in the criminal prosecution of the offender with

Youth Violence and

Juvenile Justice

Volume 6 Number 2

April 2008 158-177

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Stein, Nofziger / Adolescent Sexual Victimization 159

relative infrequency (Skibinski, 1995). Prosecution in a sexual assault case may provide a

sense of justice for the adolescent victims and their families. This lack of reporting, and

perceived lack of real assistance, may have serious negative consequences for the well-being

of the victim.

The current study examines the experiences of sexual victimization among American

adolescents. First, we examine how common this problem is, who the offenders are, and

whether these are isolated events or repeated experiences of victimization. Second, we

examine who adolescents tell of these experiences, comparing the likelihood of turning to

those who may be able to legally or professionally help the victim, such as teachers or the

police, rather than family or friends who may be able to provide no more than emotional

support. We also begin to examine the consequences of adolescents reporting sexual victim-

ization. In particular we focus on whether the arrest of the offender is dependent on factors

such as who the adolescent tells and the relationship of the offender to the victim. Finally,

we consider the importance of the victim–offender relationship and the choice of confidant

within logistic regression models on arrest of offenders, controlling for characteristics of

the victimization.

Literature Review

Sexual Victimization

Sexual victimization includes any sexual activity, ranging from sexual touching to sexual

penetration, with a child or adolescent where consent is not or cannot be given (Finkelhor,

1979). This includes any sexual contact between a child and an adult, regardless if consent

is given. Consent by a child is considered invalid as she or he may not understand the nature

of the actions that occur (Finkelhor, 1979). However, not all sexual victimization of children

and adolescents is perpetrated by an adult offender. Acts conducted by other adolescents

without the consent of the adolescent victim are also classified as sexual victimization.

Studies that examine the relationship between the offender and victim reveal that most

children and adolescents are victimized by family members (Denov, 2003; Dersch & Munsch,

1999; King & Woollett, 1997). However, studies that are based on official sources, including

social services reports, are likely to have an overrepresentation of cases involving intrafamilial

sexual abuse (Berliner & Elliott, 1996). Services such as CPS are more likely to intervene

in sexual abuse cases where the offender is a parent or another adult caretaker of the child or

adolescent (Lanning, 1996). Service agencies are granted more power in situations involving

family members, possibly because of the incestuous quality of the abuse that is occurring,

or the assumption that abuse will be continuous within these types of situations.

Compared to studies that examine official or victim reports of offenders, general popula-

tion surveys on sexual offenders unveil different results. These surveys conclude parents and

parental figures represent less than 20% of all sexual abuse offenders. The majority of offend-

ers are other adolescents, who make up one half of the sexual offenders against adolescent

victims. In comparison to family abuse or abuse by other adolescents, sexual victimization by

strangers is relatively rare (Finkelhor,Hotaling, Lewis, & Smith, 1990; Saunders, Villeponteaux,

Lipovsky, & Kilpatrick, 1992).