Sexual Assault of Young Children

• In Event: Latest Finding from OJJDP’s Data Analysis Program

Abstract

Few national data collections address the issue of sexual assault against young children. The National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) asks persons age 12 and older about their victimization experiences, but youth under age 12 are not represented in this collection. Conversely, data from the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) supports detailed descriptions of sexual assaults of the very young as reported by participating law enforcement agencies. NIBRS data provides demographic details on all victims, as well as victim injury, weapon presence, and the victims’ perceptions of offenders’ characteristics. NIBRS data for 2013 included more than 1 million victims of violent crime reported by more than 5,600 law enforcement departments from 34 states and the District of Columbia. The number of reports and the detailed information available on each crime provides researchers and policymakers with a unique opportunity to study the sexual assaults of young children.

Author

• Charles Puzzanchera, National Center for Juvenile Justice