Skip to main navigation menu Skip to main content Skip to site footer
##common.pageHeaderLogo.altText##

Original article

Vol. 141 No. 0304 (2011)

Prevalence of child sexual abuse in Switzerland: a systematic review

  • V Schönbucher
  • L Held
  • M Mohler-Kuo
  • U Schnyder
  • MA Landolt
DOI
https://doi.org/10.4414/smw.2011.13123
Cite this as:
Swiss Med Wkly. 2011;141:w13123
Published
17.01.2011

Summary

BACKGROUND: Although child sexual abuse (CSA) is considered to be a significant health risk, there is no systematic overview of studies that have investigated the prevalence of CSA in Switzerland.

OBJECTIVES: To conduct a systematic review of studies on the prevalence of CSA in Switzerland.

METHODS: A literature search was conducted using several online bibliographic databases. In addition, experts in the field in Switzerland were contacted to find studies that had not been published in academic journals. Studies were selected on the basis of predefined criteria. Because heterogeneity of studies did not allow meta-analytic calculations, data were suitably structured and summarised according to the most common types of CSA.

RESULTS: Fifteen studies met inclusion criteria. Probably due to heterogeneity regarding definition and non-validated assessment of CSA, reported prevalence estimates varied greatly across studies. Prevalence rates were consistently higher for girls (up to 40%) than for boys (up to 11%). The most prevalent CSA with contact appears to be “perpetrator fondled victim”, and the most common form of non-contact CSA was “exhibitionism”.

DISCUSSION: Due to inconsistent findings, conclusions that can be drawn are limited. However, results indicate that CSA prevalence rates in Switzerland are high and comparable to other European countries. In future, representative studies need to be conducted using a validated instrument based on internationally recognized definitions of CSA to obtain valid assessments of the prevalence of CSA in Switzerland.

 

Key words: child sexual abuse; prevalence; Switzerland; sexual violence; sexual molestation; children; adolescents

References

  1. International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (ISPCAN). World perspectives on child abuse [Internet]. 8th ed. Available from: http://www.ispcan.org/CAN-facts/definition.html. Retrieved on 17th May 2010.
  2. Stiftung Kinderschutz Schweiz. Sexualerziehung bei Kleinkindern und Prävention von sexueller Gewalt. Eine Broschüre für Eltern und Erziehende von Kindern zwischen 0 und 6 Jahren. Berne: Raschle & Kranz; 2009. Available from: Stiftung Kinderschutz Schweiz, Postfach 6949, 3001 Berne, Switzerland.
  3. Schweizerisches Strafgesetzbuch (Swiss Penal Code) from 21st Dec 1937 (as of January 1, 2010), SR. 311.0 German
  4. Krahe B. Sexuelle Aggression und Partnergewalt im Jugendalter. In: Scheithauer H, Hayer T, Niebank K. Problemverhalten und Gewalt im Jugendalter. Erscheinungsformen, Entstehungsbedingungen, Prävention und Intervention. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer; 2008. p. 128–139. German.
  5. World Health Organization. Comparative quantification of health risks. Global and regional burden of disease attributable to selected major risk factors. Vol.I. Geneva: WHO; 2005. Available from: Word Health Organization, 20 Avenue Appia, 1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland.
  6. Pereda N, Guilera G, Forns M, Gomez-Benito J. The international epidemiology of child sexual abuse: A continuation of Finkelhor. 2009;33:331–42.
  7. Irish L, Kobayashi I, Delahanty DL. Long-term physical health consequences of childhood sexual abuse: a meta-analytic review. J Pediatr Psychol. 2010;35:450–61.
  8. Lampe A. The prevalence of childhood sexual abuse, physical abuse and emotional neglect in Europe. Z Psychosom Med Psychother. 2002;48:370–80.
  9. Bouvier P, Halpérin D., Rey H., Jaffé PD, Läderach J, Mounoud R et al. Typology and correlates of sexual abuse in children and youth: Multivariate analyses in a prevalence study in Geneva. Child Abuse Negl. 1999;23:779–90.
  10. Modestin J. Zur Psychogenese der Persönlichkeitsstörungen. Schweiz Arch Neurologie Psychiatrie. 2006;157:221–6. German.
  11. Niederberger JM. The perpetrator’s strategy as a crucial variable: a representative study of sexual abuse of girls and its sequelae in Switzerland. Child Abuse Negl. 2002;26:55–71.
  12. Halpérin DS, Bouvier P, Jaffé PD, Mounoud R, Pawlak CH., Läderach J et al. Prevalence of child sexual abuse among adolescents in Geneva: results of across sectional survey. BMJ. 1996;312:1326–9.
  13. Modestin J, Oberson B, Erni T. Possible antecedents of DSM-III-R personality disorders. Acta Psychiatr Scand. 1998;97:260–6.
  14. Niederberger JM. Sexueller Missbrauch von Mädchen in der Schweiz. Zürich: Edition Soziothek; 1998. German.
  15. Angst J, Degonda M, Ernst C. The Zurich Study: XV. Suicide attempts in a cohort from age 20 to 30. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci. 1992;242:135–41.
  16. Ernst C, Angst J, Földényi M. The Zurich study XVII. Sexual abuse in childhood. Frequency and relevance for adult morbidity data of a longitudinal epidemiological study. Eur Arch Psychiaty Clin Neurosci. 1993;242:293–300.
  17. Egger M, Smith GD, Altman DG. Systematic reviews in health care. Meta-analysis in context. 3rd ed. London: BMJ; 2003.
  18. Downs SH, Black N. The feasibility of creating a checklist for the assessment of the methodological quality both of randomised and non-randomised studies of health care interventions. J Epidemiol Community Health. 1998;52:377–84.
  19. Stroup DF, Thacker SB. Meta-Analysis in epidemiology. In: Armitage P, Colton T, editors. Encyclopedia of epidemiological methods Vol. 5. Edited by. Chichester: Wiley, 2000. p. 3181–3195.
  20. Ribeaud D, Eisner M. Entwicklung von Gewalterfahrungen Jugendlicher im Kanton Zürich. Aarau: Pädagogik bei Sauerländer; 2009. German.
  21. Jud A, Lips U, Landolt MA. Characteristics associated with maltreatment types in children referred to a hospital protection team. Eur J Pediatr. 2010;169:173–80.
  22. Gloor R, Pfister T. Kindheit im Schatten. Ausmass, Hintergründe und Abgrenzung sexueller Ausbeutung. Bern: Peter Lang; 1996. German.
  23. Tschumper A, Narring F, Meier C, Michaud PA. Sexual victimization in adolescent girls (age 15–20 years) enrolled in post-mandatory schools or professional training programmes in Switzerland. Acta Paediatr. 1998;87:212–7.
  24. Delgrande M, Kuntsche E, Schmid H. Zum Gesundheitsverhalten von 12- bis 15-jährigen SchülerInnen. Deskriptive Statistik der 1998 erhobenen Gesamtschweizer Daten. Lausanne: Schweizerische Fachstelle für Alkohol- und andere Drogenprobleme; 1999. German.
  25. Eisner M, Manzoni P, Ribeaud D. Gewalterfahrungen von Jugendlichen. Opfererfahrungen und selbstberichtete Gewalt bei Schülerinnen und Schülern im Kanton Zürich. Aarau: Pädagogik bei Sauerländer; 2001. German.
  26. Delgrande M, Schmid H. Sexualität im Jugendalter: Geschlechtsverkehr, Verhütung und sexuelle Ausbeutung. In: Schmid H, Kuntsche EN, Delgrande M, editors. Anpassen, ausweichen, auflehnen? Fakten und Hintergründe zur psychosozialen Gesundheit und Konsum psychoaktiver Substanzen von Schülerinnen und Schülern. Bern: Haupt; 2001. p. 157–76. German.
  27. Willi M, Hornung R. Jugend und Gewalt. Ergebnisse einer Befragung von Schülerinnen und Schülern im Kanton Zürich. Bern: Peter Lang; 2002. German.
  28. Narring F, Tschumper A, Inderwildi L, Jeannin A, Addor V, Bütikofer A, Suris J-C, Diserens C, Alsaker FD, Michaud PA. Santé et styles de vie des adolescents agés de 16 à 20 ans en suisse (2002) [SMASH 2002 Swiss Multicenter Adolescent Study on Health 2002]. Rapport final. Lausanne: UMSA; 2003. French.
  29. Kündig H, Kuntsche EN, Delgrande M, Schmid H. Befragung zum Gesundheitsverhalten von 11- bis 16-jährigen Schülerinnen und Schülern. Deskriptive Statistik der 2002 erhobenen Gesamtschweizer Daten. Lausanne: Schweizerische Fachstelle für Alkohol- und andere Drogenprobleme; 20033. German.
  30. Modestin J, Furrer R, Malti T. Different traumatic experiences are associated with different pathologies. Psychiatr Q. 2005;76:19–32.
  31. Walser S, Killias M. Jugenddelinquenz im Kanton St. Gallen. Final report for the Department for Education and the Department for Safety and Justice of the Canton St. Gallen, Switzerland; 2009. German.
  32. Bange D. Methodische Probleme der Folgenforschung bei sexuellem Missbrauch. In: Körner W, Lenz A, editors. Sexueller Missbrauch. Band 1: Grundlagen und Konzepte. Göttingen: Hogrefe; 2004. p. 73–81. German.
  33. Goldman JDG, Padayachi UK. Some methodological problems in estimating incidence and prevalence in child sexual abuse research. J Sex Res. 2000;37:305–14.
  34. Whitaker DJ, Le B, Hanson RK, Baker CK. Risk factors for the perpetration of child sexual abuse: A review and meta-analysis. Child Abuse Negl. 2008;32:529–48.
  35. Tier S, Martin C, Grabot D, Tignol J, Richter-Appelt H. Missbrauch und Misshandlung in der Kindheit und Auto-aggressionen in der Adoleszenz. Ein Vergleich junger Frauen aus Deutschland und Frankreich. In: Strauss B, Geyer M, editors. Psychotherapie in Zeiten der Veränderung. Historische, kulturelle und gesellschaftliche Hintergründe einer Profession. Wiesbaden: Westdeutscher Verlag; 2000. p. 501–11. German.
  36. Wyatt GE, Peters SD. (1986). Methodological considerations in research on the prevalence of child sexual abuse. Child Abuse Negl. 1986;10:241–51.
  37. Fergusson DM, Lynskey MT, Horwood LJ. Childhood sexual abuse and psychiatric disorder in young adulthood: I. Prevalence of sexual abuse and factors associated with sexual abuse. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 1996;34:1355–64.
  38. Leeb RT, Paulozzi L, Melanson C, Simon T, Arias I. Child maltreatment surveillance: Uniform definitions for public health and recommended data elements, version 1.0. Atlanta (GA): Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control; 2008.
  39. Hamby SL, Finkelhor D, Ormrod R, Turner H. The Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire (JVQ): Administration and Scoring Manual. Durham, NH: Crimes Against Children Research Center; 2004.