Between 10% and 20% of the Spanish population (one fifth) has suffered sexual abuse being a minor, although very few of these cases come to light. There is consensus among authorities health, police, judicial that only emerges the “tip of the iceberg”. Experts also warn that the invisibility is even greater in the case of the male children: They suffer practically the same sexual violence as girls, but it is much more difficult to detect and? denounce what happened even as adults.
An example. According to the data from the latest annual report of the EMMA Team, the Unit for Attention to Violence against Children and Adolescents of the Vall d’Hebron Hospital, the 79% of victims treated They are girls from between 13 and 16 years old. Where are they? “There is a large percentage of men who find it difficult recognize what happened to them. Children’s cases they come to light less, We know they happen because, when they reach adulthood, some tell it. For educators and health workers it is easier to detect cases of girls”, the psychologist tells this newspaper Noemi Pereda, member of the advisory commission of the Ombudsman’s report on sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. In fact, the known episodes, which are those that reach the authorities, make up only 10% of those that exist. “90% of the victims You will never receive help during your childhood, something that increases the damage,” says Pereda, who is also a professor at the University of Barcelona (UB).
According to her, although it is not as visible, “the percentage of abused children is very similar to that of girls”, as they perceive victimization surveys, which collect quantified information about crimes that have occurred but never been reported. “In child sexual abuse the asymmetry is in age, not in gender. The focus is that the victim is a child who has not yet developed, someone you can manipulate. Focusing on gender is a mistake,” insists Pereda.
“They deal with it as best they can”
Also to the General Directorate of Child and Adolescent Care (DGAIA) Most of the abuse that occurs is from men to girls. This institution receives cases of abuse that They occur in the family environment. “There is a very big age difference between the abuser and the victim. The abuser is the father, the older brother, the cousin,” explains the general director of the entity, Ester Cabanes. Recognize that It is more difficult to detect it in children. “They don’t explain it to anyone, They deal with it as best they can. Girls are more likely to explain it to your best friends,” explains Cabanes.
Furthermore, when they are abused by an adult man and due to the “patriarchal society”, they feel that they are “questions his sexual identity.” “They wonder if this has happened to them because maybe they like men. There are a series of questions that they are not done,” points out the director of the DGAIA.
The DGAIA only withdraws custody of the minor when it perceives that this it is not protected. “It is difficult for families to assimilate what is happening,” acknowledges Cabanes. To treat child victims of sexual abuse, the Department of Social Rights is committed to ‘Barnahus’ model, a house that functions as a comprehensive care service for these minors and that brings together in the same space a multidisciplinary team of professionals. There is already one in Tarragona and the Government will deploy 12 more in Catalonia between December and January.
“Prepare the adults”
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Cabanes remembers that “there is no abuser profile”, so the fight against sexual violence involves “to empower” to children about their own bodies so they can say ‘no’. “Abusers have a sharpened view for the vulnerable people. They know well who They won’t ask for help,” says the general director of the DGAIA, who in turn sees it necessary “prepare adults” to receive “this revelation.”
Cabanes values positively reports like those of the Ombudsman, but asks for more. “It is of little use to know how many cases there have been. We need that the victims be recognized. Many crimes remain statute-barred. Let’s search formulas for recognition and reparation”, ditch. For his part, Pereda asks to do state studies from the Government to know the evolution of this type of aggression, as it happens with the sexist violence and as is already done in other countries.