There are already laws that prohibit child sexual abuse. Sex with a minor under the age of consent is illegal in all states in the United States and most countries internationally, and most states have specific laws against child sexual abuse, incest, molestation, or lewd and lascivious conduct with a minor. Most countries in the world (the United States excluded) have ratified The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of the Child, which states a child's right to grow up free of sexual exploitation and abuse. But these laws have done little to actually stop child sexual abuse from happening. Legal courts are often ill equipped to work with complex issues of child sexual abuse. Most professionals in these setting are not trained in the dynamics and statistics of abuse. Judiciary discretion does not frequently lead to well-informed, effective decisions about child sexual abuse.

Because of the often close relationship between offenders and their victims, most cases of child sexual abuse do not ever enter into the legal system. People are loath to report child sexual abuse to the authorities, and when they do those cases involving incest or abuse by a family intimate are unlikely to be prosecuted. Only 10% of all estimated child sexual abuse cases go through the legal system. Those most likely to be prosecuted for child sexual abuse are those who have the least relationship to the child (stranger abductions). It correlates that the closer you are in blood relation to the child, the less likely you are to be reported and prosecuted legally. Even when cases do enter the legal system, the system itself operates through a punitive model that receives very mixed reviews from victims, offenders, affected family members and the broader community impacted by child sexual abuse. Victims are often re-traumatized by the system, offenders rarely receive treatment, and families frequently do not feel served by the experience.

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