There are over 60 million adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse in the United States today and there are hundreds of millions more worldwide.
- One in 3 girls is sexually abused before the age of 18.
- One in 4 boys is sexually abused before the age of 18. (http://www.psychohistory.com/htm/06a1_incest.html)
Did You Know?…
- There are more people in the US effected by childhood sexual abuse (60,000,000 plus) than there are people afflicted with HIV/AIDS and Diabetes COMBINED (25,450,000).
- Heart disease, stroke, and lung disease are three of the top 5 inflictions in the United States. The COMBINED total of those living with these inflictions is 39.2 million.
- The number of adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse in the US alone (60,000,000 plus) surpasses the number of people in America who have been diagnosed with all forms of cancer (45,820,000)!
- There is more being done to treat the 40 million plus Americans with arthritis than for the 60 million adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse in the United States.
- Experiences in childhood define the adult! Only in the first decade of a child’s life does the brain form trillions of connections that lay the groundwork for their adult skill set and their emotional responses to the world around them. When the brain experiences trauma and stress (such as sexual abuse) hormones are released, the brain becomes “worn out” and these connections start to fail.
- According to the ministry of women and child development and Childline, “In India a child experiences the trauma of sexual abuse EVERY SECOND, and EVERY 155th MINUTE, a child below 16 years of age is raped.”
- 93% of juvenile sexual assault victims know their attacker.
- 90% of sexual abuse victims never tell.
- Two thirds of patients in drug abuse treatment facilities say they were physically and sexually abused as children.
- Victims of childhood sexual abuse as well as combat veterans actually experienced physical changes to their brain at the time of the trauma. (J. Douglas Brenner MD)