Almost 7% of Adults in England, Wales Suffered Sexual Abuse as Children

10.5 percent of women and 2.6 percent of men in England and Wales suffered sexual abuse as children, according to report.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Nearly 7 percent of adults in England and Wales suffered sexual abuse as children, the UK Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed on Thursday.

Women were found to be four times more likely than men to face sexual abuse, with as many as 10.5 percent of women and 2.6 percent of men reporting that they were sexually assaulted in their childhood, the ONS said in its 2015 to 2016 Crime Survey for England & Wales victim study.

The survey questioned respondents between 16 and 59 years old and defined sexual assault as anything involving rape or penetration, including attempts, indecent exposure or unwanted touching. The former categories were shown to be less prevalent, with 2 percent of adults reporting to have suffered rape or penetration and 6 percent reporting to have suffered other types of sexual assault, according to the study.

The survey also found that men were almost equally likely to experience sexual assault by rape or penetration as adults and as children, while the difference for women is 3 and 6 percent for childhood and adulthood respectively.

ONS also gathered information on psychological and physical abuse, the results showing that nearly 9 percent of respondents were abused psychologically as children, with women prevailing among the victims, while 6.8 percent, mostly men, faced physical abuse.

The latest Crime Survey for England and Wales has for the first time included a module of child abuse questions and is the first study to deal with the issue of child abuse in the United Kingdom nationwide.