Child sexual abuse: A reality for both sexes

Despite growing awareness regarding the reality of child sexual abuse (CSA) , a paucity of studies have examined whether the determinants, risk factors , and aftermath of CSA differ between male and female victims. This paper a ttempts to provide an empirical and conceptual review of research findings to date. There is evidence that CSA against boys is under-reported, and tha t male victims are given less counselling than females, despite the prevale nce of comparable psychological sequelae. It is argued that further researc h into gender differences associated with CSA needs to be conducted because the conclusions of existing studies are tenuous. Future research may (a) l ead to an elaboration and assessment of current conceptualisations of CSA t hat predominantly focus on female victims, and (b) facilitate the developme nt and implementation of gender-based public policy in relation to CSA.