Risk factors for continuity of child sexual abuse, as reported by data from a children's hospital in Brazil

A study was conducted in Florianópolis (SC) in 2015, evaluating 489 reports of sexual violence against children and adolescents in a reference service, from 2008 to 2014. The dependent variable was the continuity of sexual... [ view full abstract ]

A study was conducted in Florianópolis (SC) in 2015, evaluating 489 reports of sexual violence against children and adolescents in a reference service, from 2008 to 2014. The dependent variable was the continuity of sexual abuse and the independent variables were sex of the victim, the victim's age, color and race, presence or absence of disability of the victim, place of occurrence, sex of perpetrator, use of alcohol by perpetrator, number of people involved, victims relationship with the perpetrator and presence or absence of rape. To evaluate the relationship between continuity of abuse and associated factors, chi-square test was done and variables with p < 0.2 were tested in the regression model. The continuity of the sexual abuse accounted for 51.0% of the notifications (CI 95%:45.72 to 56.29). The best adjusted model for continuous sexual abuse included the sex of the author being male (OR: 9.82; 95% CI: 1.13 to 85.25), the highest number of people involved (OR: 2.39; 95% CI: 1.03 to 5.56), the place of occurrence being the victims’or perpetrators’ residence (OR: 2.32; 95% CI: 1.08 to 4.95) and the author being known to the victim (OR: 1.94; 95% CI: 1.09 to 3.46); explaining 63.6% of the cases (78.9% of positive and 44.3% of negative) with Hosmer and Lemeshow test of 0.858. Based on regression analysis, it is important to note that the factors defined by the model indicate ongoing abuse in 78.9% of cases. Due to the similar characteristics of the associated factors of continuous CSA in Brazil and abroad it is recommended to continue investigation and discussion in different social spheres and academia, seeking the understanding of this phenomenon and the promotion of more adequate models to prevent this form of violence.