Case-based surveillance study in judicial districts in Turkey: Child sexual abuse sample from four provinces

Abstract

Child sexual abuse is a universal public health problem. Although studies have reported that 11% to 37% of children have been sexually abused in Turkey, no accurate information is available. Thus, this study aims to investigate child sexual abuse cases registered in legal databases in select provinces in Turkey to improve our epidemiological understanding of regionally reported cases. The sample of this study consists of child sexual abuse cases filed with courthouses in four provinces in Turkey under Articles 103 and 104 of the Turkish Criminal Law, between October 2010 and October 2011. Retrospective review of these case files revealed 1,005 cases, 86% female, and 45.7% both sexually abused and exposed to other forms of abuse. Sexual abuse was often accompanied by physical abuse. Regarding the relationship of the perpetrator to the victim, 14.3% of perpetrators were found to be family members. There was also a significant relationship between child's gender and perpetrator's relationship to the victim; boys were abused mostly by strangers (55.7%) and girls by their peers (54.9%).