Prevalence and associated characteristics of sexual exploitation in a representative sample of spanish youth from an intersectional perspective

Background

Child sexual exploitation (CSE) involves using a child or youth as a sexual object in exchange for remuneration, reward, or favors, meeting their survival needs, and also serving the perpetrator's aims for sexual, social, or economic gain.

Objective

The present study addresses the prevalence of CSE in Spain. Participants: A representative sample of 4024 secondary school adolescents from 14 to 17 years old (M = 15.42, SD = 1.034) was surveyed.

Methods

Three questions adapted from previous European studies on the topic were used.

Results

An overall prevalence of 2.6 % was recorded, comprising exchange of sexual material (1.7 %), sexual touching (0.9 %), and sexual relations involving oral sex or penetration (0.9 %). While no significant age-related differences emerged, gender-specific patterns were observed. Boys exhibited a significantly higher prevalence of oral and penetrative sex than girls (1.2 % vs 0.5 %), while girls showed a slightly higher prevalence of exchange of sexual material (2 % vs 1.2 %) than boys. LGB youth reported a significantly higher risk for CSE than heterosexual youth (5.5 % vs 2.1 %), and European adolescents reported less CSE (2.2 % vs. 4.1 %) than youths from other ethnicities.

Conclusions

CSE should be a social concern because it affects a substantial number of children worldwide. Interventions should adopt an intersectional perspective that incorporates the various risk factors associated with this form of victimization.