Children Molesting Children

Minneapolis SlutWalk Protesting Stigmatization of Victims of Sexual Assault (2011), Author Alan from Minneapolis, (CC Attribution 2.0 Generic)

A North Carolina couple are suing the Wake Forest Magnet Elementary School where they say their 6 y.o. son was sexually assaulted multiple times by a classmate, even after the abuse was reported to a teacher and the school’s principal [1].

We do not hear of the tragedy of child-on-child sexual abuse often.  But children do at times molest other children [2].

Force, Threats, and Trickery

Child-on-child sexual abuse is to be distinguished from the normal, anatomical curiosity of children.  It may involve physical force, threats, or trickery.  The victim may actually “cooperate” – not comprehending, by reason of his or her tender years, the nature of what is being done.

Child-on-child sexual abuse can, in fact, take place between siblings.  The victims of this type of incest may develop a distorted recollection of the violation (picturing, themselves, as the initiator or the sex acts as consensual, as a means of psychological self-protection).

Causes

A.  Sexual Abuse

Young children who engage in sexual abuse may, themselves, have been sexually abused [3A].

B.  Exposure to Sexual Activity 

They may repeatedly have witnessed the sexual activity of adults at an early age, and be attempting to imitate their elders [3B].  They may, for instance, live with adults (or teens) who act out sexually after drinking or taking drugs.  They may even live in a household where sexual services are bartered for rent or sold outright. 

C.  Exposure to Pornography

They may simply have been exposed to pornography, or confused and overwhelmed by the amount of sexual imagery on TV, in movies and videos, in video games, and on the internet [3C].

Intent

Depending on their age, the children initiating sexual activity may not necessarily mean harm, though harm does result.  The specific circumstances must be taken into account.

Reporting

Over a third of child sexual abuse offenses in the United States are committed by perpetrators under the age of 18 [3B][4].  Much of this is by perpetrators’ in their late teens. 

However, child-on-child sexual abuse occurring at a younger age frequently goes unreported, since it takes place away from adult eyes.

Responsibility

Both the child victims and child perpetrators of this form of sexual abuse must receive help. But the ultimate responsibility for child-on-child sexual abuse rests with adults. 

In North Carolina, the tragedy seems to have been compounded by the carelessness of those in authority who could and should have intervened.

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[1]  Newsway, “Parents say their 6-year-old was sexually assaulted by a classmate at school and educators did nothing to protect him” by Isabel Keane, 12/1/25, https://newswav.com/article/parents-say-their-6-year-old-was-sexually-assaulted-by-a-classmate-at-schoo-A2512_Vuf1Ze.

[2]  Wikipedia, “Child-on-child sexual abuse”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child-on-child_sexual_abuse.

[3A and 3B]  Stop It Now!, “Why a Child May Sexually Harm Another Child” (based on Helping Children with Sexual Behavior Problems © 2004 by Toni Cavanagh Johnson, PhD), https://stopitnow.org/ohc-content/why-a-child-may-sexually-harm-another-child.

[4]  Journal of Adolescent Health, “The Lifetime Prevalence of Child Sexual Abuse and Sexual Assault Assessed in Late Adolescence” by David Finkelhor et al, Vol. 55, Issue 3, September 2014, https://www.jahonline.org/article/S1054-139X(13)00854-9/fulltext.

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