Survivors of childhood sexual abuse

Childhood Sexual Abuse (CSA) is a type of interpersonal complex trauma that affects 10–20 per cent of children across the EU, although it is believed that it is largely underreported. In the UK prevalence is reported to be 21 per cent for females and 11 per cent for males. Adult survivors of CSA are likely to present with psychological/emotional, social/relational, and physical/sexual difficulties ranging in severity (Cawson et al., 2000; McGee et al., 2002). Seeking and receiving help to deal with experiences of sexual abuse has been shown to be a long, complex, and difficult process for most survivors (Chouliara et al., in press; Gavey, 2003). Providing services for survivors is also challenging and entails the risk for vicarious traumatisation (Chouliara et al., 2009). Therefore, CSA is recognised as a public health issue (Krug et al., 2002; WHO, 2002).