Myths and misconceptions

Fact – Child sexual abuse can happen to any child or young person under 18 years old. The Australian Child Maltreatment Study found that around 1 in 4 Australians aged 16 years and over have experience child sexual abuse¹. Offenders are often skilled in exploiting vulnerabilities. For more information, visit How many people have experienced child sexual abuse. 

Fact – Child sexual abuse impacts all Australian communities. Victims and survivors of child sexual abuse come from all walks of life and can be located anywhere in Australia. To find out more about the prevalence of child sexual abuse, visit our How many people have experienced child sexual abuse page.

Fact – Child sexual abuse can occur within families, in organisations and online, by people the child or young person knows or does not know. Most often though, child sexual abuse is perpetrated by someone the child knows. Find out more about Who perpetrates child sexual abuse.

Fact – Child sexual abuse perpetrators can be any age or gender and come from any background. To find out more, visit our Who perpetrates child sexual abuse page.

Fact – Child sexual abuse is usually planned and rarely occurs in isolation. The Australian Child Maltreatment Study found that most (78%) victims and survivors of child sexual abuse said it happened more than one time, 42% said it happened more than 6 times and 11% said it happened more than 50 times². Perpetrators may use a range of tactics over long periods of time to groom children, as well as their family, kin and carers, in order to perpetuate sexual abuse.

Fact – Children and young people rarely lie about sexual abuse. While it is difficult to accurately quantify through research (due to factors such as underreporting), studies over many decades show that intentional false allegations by children are extremely rare. Some organisations have cited figures as high as 98% of reports by children being true³. Evidence clearly shows that children are far more likely to delay, minimise or avoid disclosing abuse than they are to fabricate it.

It's also important to acknowledge that stress and pressure on children can increase following a disclosure, particularly if they observe family breakdown or parental distress. In some instances, this may cause a child to retract their disclosure, in an effort to return the situation to normal. It is also important to acknowledge the impact that trauma, such as sexual abuse, can have on memory, which may make it difficult for children and young people to recall details about the abuse they experienced. This does not mean they lied about the abuse.

Fact – A child and young person’s disclosure of sexual abuse should always be believed. Perpetrators of child sexual abuse may use ‘accidental’ touching or tickling to defend their behaviour, or may manipulate the child or young person to shift the blame from themselves. It’s important to have conversations with children about private body parts and body boundaries so they can understand what’s inappropriate and wrong.

Fact – Only a small number of children and young people will directly tell or convey to someone that they have been sexually abused. It is more common for children and young people to tell people indirectly or inadvertently through behavioural changes.

Disclosing an experience of child sexual abuse is difficult. It can take victims and survivors a long time to disclose sexual abuse, and some never do. The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse found that victims and survivors take on average 23.9 years to disclose child sexual abuse⁴. The Child Maltreatment Study found that nearly half (45.2%) of all victims and survivors had never disclosed in their lifetime⁵.

Learn more about the factors that influence disclosures on our How to respond to a child sexual abuse disclosure page.

Fact – A child or young person may display a range of signs if they are being sexually abused, or they may show none at all. It’s important to understand the range of explicit and subtle signs and indicators of child sexual abuse that children and young people may show. 

It can be particularly hard to tell if a child or young person is being sexually abused if they are also being groomed. Perpetrators will often not only groom the child or young person, but also their family, kin, carers and support networks in order to avoid discovery of sexual abuse. 

Fact – A child or young person is never to blame for sexual abuse. Children do not have the capacity to consent and child sexual abuse is always the fault of the perpetrator. A child or young person may blame themselves for sexual abuse, particularly if they don’t understand what’s happened or if the perpetrator has groomed and manipulated them.

Blaming children and young people, whether directly or indirectly, reinforces shame, guilt and silence. If you’re speaking to a child or young person about abuse they have experienced, it’s important to always to tell them that they aren’t to blame for what happened.

Fact – A child or young person is never to blame for sexual abuse. Child sexual abuse is always the fault of the perpetrator. Children and young people may respond differently to a traumatic event, including experiencing fight, flight, freeze or fawn. The absence of resistance is not consent – these are involuntary survival responses, not choices. Complying with abuse may be the child’s body’s way of trying to stay as safe as possible.

When grooming is involved, children and young people may not realise the behaviour is wrong as perpetrators manipulate, normalise and progressively desensitise children and young people, making them believe they can be trusted and the relationship is safe.

Fact – Sometimes a child or young person who is being sexually abused might not feel uncomfortable or unsafe, particularly if they are very young, are being groomed, or if the perpetrator is someone known to them.

Fact – While these are effective methods, parental controls and privacy settings are not the only factor in keeping children and young people safe online. It’s important to have open and honest conversations with children and young people, and understand online safety and how you can keep children and young people safe. 

Fact – Child sexual abuse that occurs online is real sexual abuse. Like abuse that happens in person (often called ‘contact abuse’), victims and survivors of online child sexual abuse can experience significant trauma and distress that is often lifelong. The impacts of online sexual abuse can be exacerbated because of ongoing fear and shame from the permanence of images and videos online.

Fact – Conversations with children and young people about sexual abuse can be age- and developmentally-appropriate, and can be part of other conversations about bodies, respect, relationships and online safety. Our conversation toolkit has helpful guidance for having these conversations.

Fact – All adults have a responsibility to keep children and young people safe, even if you’re not a parent or carer. This includes extended family, educators and coaches. If you’re unsure where to start, our conversation toolkit has information, guidance and tips.

Fact – Child abuse is preventable and all adults can play a role in keeping children and young people safe from sexual abuse. A simple way to contribute to prevention is having ongoing, proactive, preventative conversations with the people in your life. Our conversation toolkit has helpful guidance for having these conversations.