Teen sexual abuse has doubled in the United States in six years

Sexual assault is a monstrous scourge that can leave lasting scars on the victim. In France, according to figures from the Ministry of Justice, of the 38,000 cases of sexual violence recorded in 2016, nearly 4 out of 10 cases concerned minors (39%). If at the beginning, testimonies and complaints were not commonplace, the word has been considerably freed, especially on the side of women, since the Harvey Weinstein scandal and the Metoo and Balance your pork movements, where the victims do not hesitate more to denounce their aggressors. This is for example the case for the actress Adele Haenel, who saw the opening of a judicial investigation for sexual assault by the Paris prosecutor’s office, after revealing at the house of Mediapart November 3the sexual assaults and the touching she suffered from the director Christophe Ruggia, between her 12 and her 15 years.

In the United States, while official statistics for the past 20 years predicted a decline in the number of cases of sexual abuse among adolescents, the latest study of data from the Nationwide Emergency Department Sample of the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project, indicates that ED admissions for teen sexual abuse more than doubled between 2010 and 2016. According to a research paper published Nov. 4 in the journal JAMA Pediatricschild abuse has been on a steady decline for decades, but the numbers for teens between 2010 and 2016 tell a whole different story.

Better coordination of services

The study’s lead author, Jesse Helton, an assistant professor of social work at the College for Public Health and Social Justice at St. Louis University in Missouri, was surprised by the results. Analyzing the numbers, he found that the number of emergency room admissions for teenagers aged 12 to 17, of whom 85% are girls and 15% boys, doubled over the six-year period. However, for other age groups, this rate showed no change.

According to him, even if the data does not help to explain the increase in the rate of admission to the emergency room, it nevertheless offers a number of possibilities and calls for raising awareness and encouraging young people to report cases of violence.

Furthermore, this disturbing figure also calls for increased and improved coordination between police departments and forensic teams. She says there are no other options like child advocacy centers and specially trained pediatricians to deal with sexual abuse.

Lack of care structures

“Although the data does not explain this increase, we do know that there has been an increase in coordination between the medical profession, the courts and forensic teams, underlines Jesse Helton. Increased efforts have been made to ensure that rape kits are used correctly. We know that in the legal system, if the evidence is presented, cases can be processed more quickly. Changes in health and child protection policies could also play a role, if more adolescents are seen in emergency rooms than before.”

In the document, the author also points to the absence of child rights centers in many parts of the United States, which he says can be an alternative to emergencies, since they are staffed with trained professionals. to interview the children. In these circumstances, children, especially in rural areas, must rely on the emergency department for assistance.

Jesse Helton also questioned whether all emergency services were well prepared to help teenage victims of sexual abuse, whether it was the best option for care, whether they were equipped to deal with such cases and whether there were social workers to help them. Other questions that find relevance in the research paper include: Can emergency room physicians detect human trafficking? Are they well trained to identify victims and are they able to administer adequate medical care such as testing for sexually transmitted infections and psychological care?

Although Jesse Helton was not able to find conclusive answers to these questions, it is important to raise these issues according to him.