FAQ: Why would someone do that to a child?

There is no simple explanation as to why someone would sexually abuse a child. Recent research suggests that a very broad range of adults perpetrate sexual abuse, so it is difficult to come up with a single profile (set of traceable behaviors and demographic) of a child sexual offender. If you looked at a graph that charted the profile and demographics of child sexual offenders in the United States, it would match the profile and demographics of the average men in the country. This does not mean that all men in the U.S. are sexual offenders. Rather, it underscores the fact that sexual abuse is committed by a wide range of people rather than by a stereotypical offender. But despite the fact that there is no single profile for a sexual offender, recent research in the field of sex offender treatment suggests that some key factors are often present: very low self esteem, feelings of extreme powerlessness, a tendency to relate more to children than adults, little to no empathic ability, and strong projections of accountability onto others (it is all someone else's fault). Reports of personal histories of abuse among sexual offenders against children vary. Current research suggests that only 1/3 of reported sexual offenders have experienced sexual abuse themselves, although research also suggests that a personal history of physical, emotional and sexual abuse acts as a risk factor for offending.

One common stereotype is that all adults who sexually abuse children are pedophiles, people whose main sexual attraction is to children under the age of puberty. This suggests that there is a specific class of adults who seek out sex with children, and that these people are different from adults who have sexual relations with other adults. But many of the adults who sexually abuse children are not pedophiles. They have ongoing sexual relations with adults, and sexually abuse children.

Professionals who work with sexual offenders argue that there are a few broad categories of offenders: some are adults who repeatedly seek out children to sexually abuse, often these offenders are pedophiles; others are considered opportunistic abusers, or those who merely act on opportunity or the proximity of children to abuse. These offenders may not seek out children to abuse outside of their immediate family or network. Many offenders do not show a broader sexual interest in children. Child sexual abuse is about having power over another person and using that power sexually.

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