Child Sexual Abuse
3. Puberty – 5th through 7th Grades:
- Children in this age group find everything embarrassing and are very focused on acceptance within their peer group.
- Kids at this stage can be very difficult to interview. They may believe they are responsible for the abuse being perpetrated on them since their bodies are changing.
- Victims in this group may tell friends that they’re being abused, but they will swear the friends to secrecy. Girls are more likely to tell their best friend than boys will be.
- Boys who are being abused by another male will usually not tell anyone about the abuse because they don’t want to be labeled as a homosexual. Those who are being abused by an adult female will be more likely to open up about it since there is less of a perceived stigma attached to male/female sexual activity (even though it is criminal behavior).
