Prevalence and effects of child sexual abuse in a poor, rural community in El Salvador: a retrospective study of women after 12 years of civil war

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this retrospective study was to examine the epidemiology of child sexual abuse (CSA) among women in a poor, rural community in El Salvador, which was recovering from a 12-year civil war. Methods: A cross-sectional, door-to-door survey was administered to 83 women. The LA Times Sexual Abuse Survey was used to determine the prevalence of CSA. The Hopkins Symptom Checklist (HCL) was used to measure long-term psychological sequelae of abuse (somatization, anxiety, depression, interpersonal sensitivity, and obsessive-compulsive traits). Information also was obtained about participation and number of relatives killed in the country’s 12-year civil war. Results: Of the 83 women interviewed, 14 (17%) reported a total of 21 experiences of CSA. The median age of abuse was 14 years. The majority of perpetrators (90.4%) were strangers, friends, or neighbors. None was a parent. The only significant difference between abused and non-abused women was on the depression measure, where abused women showed more pathology. After controlling for the number of relatives killed in the war, however, that difference failed to reach statistical significance. Conclusions: Differences in the epidemiology of CSA from that of other countries may be secondary to a different social structure in the rural Salvadoran community and non-disclosure by the women surveyed. The lack of difference in psychological symptoms between abused and non-abused women may be related to the different characteristics of the abuse and perpetrators. It also may be secondary to adverse social conditions such as poverty and war, which could obscure the long-term effects of CSA.