The most important lesson learned about interpersonal violence in the past 20 years is the astonishingly high prevalence of sexual assault in American society. The extensiveness of unreported sexual assault has been repeatedly documented through the use of self-report data from well-constructed surveys of victims and perpetrators. In contrast,…

A survey of 164 college women revealed that 18% recalled some instance of childhood sexual abuse. These women were from a variety of ethnic, cultural, and economic backgrounds. The majority were abused by nonfamily members, but strangers were the identified perpetrators in 21% of the cases. The importance of these findings is discussed as well as…

Investigates counselors' attitudes toward sex offenders and the relationship of these attitudes to counselors' experience, training, and personal characteristics. Results indicate that counselors tend to have positive attitudes toward sex offenders and that experience, preparation from training, and victim status are related to these positive…

Reviews current knowledge of the most frequently asked questions about child sexual abuse, in areas such as its prevalence and trends, and what populations are at risk. Data presented from 19 adult retrospective surveys show that the incidence of reported child sexual abuse is rising, that less than one-third of the cases were committed by…