Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network, Washington, DC, United States.
JMIR Public Health Surveill. 2023 Aug 11;9:e44760. doi: 10.2196/44760.
Three years since the onset of COVID-19, pandemic-related trends in child sexual abuse (CSA) remain poorly understood. Common administrative surveillance metrics may have underestimated abuse during the pandemic, given youths' limited access to mandatory reporters. Research using anonymous service-use data showed increased violence-related online help-seeking but overlooked youth-specific help-seeking for CSA during COVID-19. Understanding pandemic-related trends in CSA can inform abuse detection practices and mental health service provision for youth victims.
The purpose of this study was to harness anonymous help-seeking data from the National Sexual Assault Online Hotline (NSAOH) to glean insights about CSA occurrence in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic.
We used an archival sample of victims who contacted NSAOH from 2016 to 2021 (n=41,561). We examined differences in the proportion of youth and adult victims contacting NSAOH during the first COVID-19 year (March 2020 to February 2021) compared to the prior year (March 2019 to February 2020; n=11,719). Further, we compared key characteristics of hotline interactions among youth victims during the first COVID-19 year to the prior year (n=5913). Using joinpoint regression analysis, we examined linear trends in the number of monthly sampled youth and adult victims (excluding victims of unknown age) from 2016 to 2021 who discussed any victimization event (n=26,904) and who discussed recent events (ie, events occurring during the pandemic; n=9932).
Most youth victims were abused by family members prior to (1013/1677, 60.4%) and after (2658/3661, 72.6%) the onset of COVID-19. The number of youth victims contacting NSAOH spiked in March 2020 and peaked in November 2020 for all youth (slope=28.2, 95% CI 18.7-37.7) and those discussing recent events (slope=17.4, 95% CI 11.1-23.6). We observed a decline in youth victims into spring 2021 for all youth (slope=-56.9, 95% CI -91.4 to -22.3) and those discussing recent events (slope=-33.7, 95% 47.3 to -20.0). The number of adult victims discussing any victimization event increased steadily from January 2018 through May 2021 (slope=3.6; 95% CI 2.9-4.2) and then declined (slope=-13.8, 95% CI -22.8 to -4.7). Trends were stable for adults discussing recent events.
This study extends the use of hotline data to understand the implications of the pandemic on CSA. We observed increased youth help-seeking through the NSAOH coinciding with the onset of COVID-19. Trends persisted when limiting analyses to recent victimization events, suggesting increased help-seeking reflected increased CSA during COVID-19. These findings underscore the utility of anonymous online services for youth currently experiencing abuse. Further, the findings support calls for increased youth mental health services and efforts to incorporate online chat into youth-targeted services.
自 COVID-19 爆发以来已经过去了三年，与儿童性虐待（CSA）相关的大流行趋势仍未得到充分了解。由于青少年接触强制性报告人的机会有限，常见的行政监测指标可能低估了大流行期间的虐待行为。利用匿名服务使用数据进行的研究表明，与暴力相关的在线求助有所增加，但忽视了 COVID-19 期间青少年针对 CSA 的特定求助。了解 CSA 在大流行期间的趋势可以为青少年受害者的虐待检测实践和心理健康服务提供信息。
本研究旨在利用国家性侵犯在线热线（NSAOH）的匿名求助数据，深入了解美国在 COVID-19 大流行期间 CSA 的发生情况。
我们使用了从 2016 年至 2021 年期间联系 NSAOH 的受害者的档案样本（n=41561）。我们比较了在 2020 年 3 月至 2021 年 2 月（n=11719）的第一个 COVID-19 年与前一年（2019 年 3 月至 2020 年 2 月）相比，青少年和成年受害者联系 NSAOH 的比例。此外，我们比较了在第一个 COVID-19 年期间与前一年（n=5913）期间，青少年受害者热线互动的关键特征。使用 Joinpoint 回归分析，我们检查了 2016 年至 2021 年期间每月抽样的青少年和成年受害者（排除未知年龄的受害者）的数量趋势，这些受害者讨论了任何受害事件（n=26904）和讨论了近期事件（即，发生在大流行期间的事件；n=9932）。
大多数青少年受害者在 COVID-19 之前（1013/1677，60.4%）和之后（2658/3661，72.6%）都被家庭成员虐待。在 2020 年 3 月，所有青少年（斜率=28.2，95%CI 18.7-37.7）和那些讨论近期事件的青少年（斜率=17.4，95%CI 11.1-23.6）接触 NSAOH 的青少年数量急剧增加，并在 2020 年 11 月达到峰值。我们观察到所有青少年（斜率=-56.9，95%CI-91.4 至-22.3）和那些讨论近期事件的青少年（斜率=-33.7，95%CI 47.3 至-20.0）的青少年受害者数量在 2021 年春季下降。讨论任何受害事件的成年受害者数量从 2018 年 1 月到 2021 年 5 月稳步增加（斜率=3.6；95%CI 2.9-4.2），然后下降（斜率=-13.8，95%CI-22.8 至-4.7）。对于讨论近期事件的成年人来说，趋势是稳定的。
本研究扩展了热线数据的使用，以了解大流行对 CSA 的影响。我们观察到青少年通过 NSAOH 寻求帮助的人数增加，这与 COVID-19 的爆发相吻合。当将分析限制在最近的受害事件时，趋势仍然存在，这表明增加的求助反映了 COVID-19 期间 CSA 的增加。这些发现强调了匿名在线服务对当前遭受虐待的青少年的实用性。此外，这些发现支持增加青少年心理健康服务的呼吁，并努力将在线聊天纳入面向青少年的服务中。
