ABSTRACT

Objective:

The aim of this study was to investigate demographic and other relevant abuse- related characteristics of children who were referred to social services on suspicion of sexual abuse, confi rmed as abused by judicial law and under child protection action in accordance with the Child Protection Law, Code 5395.

Method:

Participants of this research were 424 children aged between 0-17 years old that were the victims of sexual abuse and under court ordered child protection action, between the years 2010-2015. Relevant data were obtained from the fi les containing registered demographic and medical information of cases, and examined retrospectively.

Results:

Of all cases, 340 (80.2%) were girls and 84 (19.8%) were boys, with a mean age of 12.91 (s = 3.96) years old. Most prevalent type of sexual abuse was sexual penetration for both gender. Whether the victim personally knew the perpetrator or not varied based on the gender and age of the child. Most common psychiatric diagnosis was post-traumatic stress disorder within whole sample, whilesecond most common psychiatric disorder varied according to age groups.

Discussion:

Child sexual abuse is a serious problem requiring special attention in Turkey. The present study included only registered cases from a time span of past 5 years. Child sexual abuse poses a great deal of risks for child’s physical and mental health. Therefore, it is important to conceptualize and approach to this issue as a social and political problem, in order to promote the well-being of next generations.