The Scope of Religious Related Child Sexual Abuse in Spain: A Prevalence Study.

IF 1.4 4区心理学 Q3 FAMILY STUDIES

Journal of Child Sexual Abuse Pub Date : 2025-07-30 DOI:10.1080/10538712.2025.2541104

Noemí Pereda, Josep M Tamarit, Elizabeth Suárez-Soto

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background and objectives: Research on the prevalence of child sexual abuse within the Catholic Church has been limited in Europe. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence and characteristics of religious-related sexual abuse in a broad sample of the Spanish population, placing it within the broader context of sexual violence against children and adolescents.

Participants and setting: Among the survey respondents, 52.3% were women (n = 4,188) and 47.7% were men (n = 3,825). Participants ranged in age from 18 to 100 years (M = 51.5, SD = 17.6), with the majority (n = 7,154; 89.5%) born in Spain.

Results: The results indicated that 11.7% of respondents were victims of child sexual abuse, with a higher prevalence among women (8.6%) compared to men (3.1%). A total of 1.1% of respondents reported having experienced religious-related sexual abuse, primarily in religious educational institutions or churches, with 0.6% identifying a Catholic clergyman as the perpetrator. The majority of ecclesiastical abuse involved physical contact, and in many cases, the abuse was recurrent. Victims of religious-related abuse reported more significant spiritual consequences compared to those abused in other contexts.

Conclusion: The findings highlight patterns of sexual abuse similar to those observed in other countries, with a notable prevalence of abuse in male Catholic schools during the Franco dictatorship era.

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西班牙与宗教有关的儿童性虐待的范围：一项流行研究。

背景和目的：在欧洲，关于天主教会内儿童性虐待流行程度的研究一直很有限。这项研究的目的是在西班牙人口的广泛样本中估计与宗教有关的性虐待的普遍性和特征，并将其置于对儿童和青少年的性暴力的更广泛背景下。参与者和环境：在调查对象中，女性占52.3% (n = 4188)，男性占47.7% （n = 3825）。参与者的年龄从18岁到100岁不等（M = 51.5, SD = 17.6），大多数(n = 7154；89.5%)出生在西班牙。结果：调查结果显示，11.7%的受访者是儿童性虐待的受害者，其中女性（8.6%）的比例高于男性（3.1%）。总共有1.1%的受访者表示经历过与宗教有关的性虐待，主要发生在宗教教育机构或教堂，0.6%的受访者认为肇事者是天主教神职人员。大多数教会的虐待涉及身体接触，在许多情况下，虐待是反复发生的。与其他情况下的虐待相比，与宗教有关的虐待的受害者报告了更严重的精神后果。结论：调查结果强调了与其他国家类似的性虐待模式，在佛朗哥独裁时期，天主教男性学校的性虐待现象尤为普遍。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Journal of Child Sexual Abuse Multiple-

CiteScore

3.20

自引率

10.50%

发文量

期刊介绍： The Journal of Child Sexual Abuse is interdisciplinary and provides an essential interface for researchers, academicians, attorneys, clinicians, and practitioners. The journal advocates for increased networking in the sexual abuse field, greater dissemination of information and research, a higher priority for this international epidemic, and development of effective assessment, intervention, and prevention programs. Divided into sections to provide clear information, the journal covers research issues, clinical issues, legal issues, prevention programs, case studies, and brief reports, focusing on three subject groups - child and adolescent victims of sexual abuse or incest, adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse or incest, and sexual abuse or incest offenders.