Gender Differences in the Characterization of Child Sexual Abuse

Research on child sexual abuse (CSA) has increased in recent decades. However, the study of gender differences in this field is still scarce. The aim of this study was to analyze the differences in the characterization of CSA between Spanish adult men and women. The Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire was administered to 162 cisgender victims of CSA aged 18-63. Most of the abuses involved physical contact and were committed by a known person. Twenty percent of the victims indicated that they had developed a mental health problem that they believed was due to the CSA experience. Women suffered more CSA with physical contact and penetration, more types of abuse and more abuse by men, and were abused more frequently by a family member. Compared to women, men suffered more sexual abuse by women. Exploring gender differences in CSA could help to improve preventive strategies and interventions aimed at reducing the occurrence of this type of abuse and sequelae resulting from it.