Child sexual abuse and the use of child sexual abuse images

Abstract

According to police statistics, 12,019 cases of child sexual abuse with 14,051 victims were recorded by police in Germany in 2016 (Bundeskriminalamt 2017). Those cases that are brought to the attention of the judicial authorities and are located within the so-called Hellfeld (lit. "light field"), however, represent merely a fraction of the actual magnitude (Beier et al. 2015d). By and large, there is little willingness on the part of those affected to report to the police (between 11.7% and 18%); this has however increased in recent years. Abusive acts with vaginal, anal, or oral penetration and those that have taken place over a long period of time have the greatest likelihood of being reported (Bieneck et al. 2011). It is estimated that the number of unreported cases is up to 30 times higher than those included in police crime statistics (Stoltenborgh et al. 2011). Of the participants at the Berlin location of the Prevention Project Dunkelfeld (Praventionsprojekt Dunkelfeld [PPD]), 43% admitted to having committed child sexual abuse, the significant majority of which (83%) were unknown to the judicial authorities (Kuhle, Kossow and Beier 2015). A similar picture emerged from the Juvenile Prevention Project (Praventionsprojekt Jugendliche [PPJ]): 45% of the 12-18-year-olds who expressed interest in the project admitted to having committed child sexual abuse. Approximately 60% of these cases were unknown to the judicial authorities (Schlinzig et al. 2017).