Impact of Socio Economic Status and Gender on Sexual Abuse among Children

Sexual abuse is one of the most common forms of child maltreatment. Research shows that 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys may be sexually abused before adulthood (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2005). Sexual abuse includes both direct sexual contact, such as touching a childs genitals, breasts, and other private areas, and oral or sexual intercourse, and indirect behaviors, such as exposing a child to inappropriate sexual content. Most sexual abuse is perpetrated by someone the child knows and perhaps trusts, such as the childs parent, caregiver, or other relatives (USDHHS, 2009). The present study aims at assessing the impact of socioeconomic status and gender disparities in sexual abuse among children. A total sample of 300 children comprising of 100 children each (50 boys and 50 girls) from lower, middle and upper socio economic groups were selected using stratified random sampling technique for the study. Socio Economic Status scale by Kuppuswamy (1962) revised by Kumar and Tiwari (2014) was used for ascertain the socio economic status of the selected respondents. To assess the sexual abuse a self made questionnaire was administered on the selected children in the age group of 7-12 years. The study revealed a highly significant gender variation in sexual abuse among respondents belonging to lower, middle as well as upper socio economic groups, wherein girls were subjected to higher level of sexual abuse in case of all the three socio economic groups.