• A G Pineda-Lucatero, B Trujillo-Hernández, R O Millán-Guerrero, and C Vásquez.
• Unidad de Investigación Epidemiológica Clínica, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Colima, México.
• Child Care Health Dev. 2009 Mar 1; 35 (2): 184-9.

BackgroundTo determine the characteristics and prevalence of previous child sexual abuse among a group of Mexican junior high school students.MethodsA total of 1067 adolescents of both genders were selected to fill out a survey about child sexual abuse.ResultsThe prevalence of child sexual abuse was 18.7% (n = 200). It was more frequent in girls (58%) than in boys (42%). Sexual abuse involved physical contact in 75% of those cases reporting abuse. The aggressors were neighbours (50.3%), relatives (36.8%) and strangers (13.9%). Abuse was committed through deception in 90% of the cases and involved physical mistreatment in 10% of the cases. Of the victims, 14.4% had spoken about the problem and 3.7% had taken legal action. And 9.6% of those surveyed stated that they required psychological counselling.ConclusionsIn the population studied, the prevalency of child sexual abuse was greater than that reported in Mexico City (4.3-8.4%), although it was similar to that found in the Spanish child population (15-23%). The risk of sexual abuse is greater for girls and the principal aggressors are male neighbours, family friends and relatives; the abuse is committed in the home of the aggressor or the victim and very few cases are reported to the authorities.

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