MONTREAL, December 2, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) – One in three girls, and one in six boys are victims of sexual abuse according to a study. The statistics are based on studies of childhood sexual abuse in the U.S. and Canada over the past 20 years, as reported to The Montreal Gazette by professor of psychology Marc Tourigny of the University of Sherbrooke.
Also, when surveyed about knowledge and perceptions of incest and sexual abuse of children, 982 Quebecers polled on the subject estimated the incidence of abuse to be approximately 40 percent.
It is hard to quantify accurately the incidence of incest versus other types of abuse, says Marie-Josee Leroux, as the victims are usually younger and less likely to report the abuse. Leroux is executive director of the Marie Vincent Foundation, which commissioned the poll. The Montreal organization for the prevention of child abuse made the poll results public in November. The CROP poll, a telephone survey of 982 adult Quebecers, also revealed that Quebecers are more willing to talk about incest and expose members of their own family who had abused them sexually as children, compared with other surveys conducted in the past. While not denying the harsh reality of childhood sexual abuse, pro-family experts have often urged caution in the past about such studies. There has been a tendency to sometimes exaggerate the extent of abuse in order to create a climate for more interference in family life by government. Read further coverage from The Gazette at: https://www.canada.com/montreal/montrealgazette/story.asp?id=418083DA-A567-4ED2-BD14-D971677C44DC