Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Nov 4;7(3):393-401.
doi: 10.1080/20961790.2022.2052590. eCollection 2022.

Demographic characteristics of convicted child sexual abusers in South of Sweden, between 2013 and 2018: a pilot study

Emelie Stiernströmer  1 , Marie Väfors Fritz  1 , Caroline Mellgren  1 , Ardavan Khoshnood  2
Affiliations

Demographic characteristics of convicted child sexual abusers in South of Sweden, between 2013 and 2018: a pilot study

Emelie Stiernströmer et al. Forensic Sci Res. .

Abstract

This study evaluates variables concerning demographic characteristics for all adult male offenders convicted of Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) aged 0-17 in Malmö, Sweden between 2013 and 2018. All convictions (n = 18) based on court documents from the District Court, the Court of Appeals and information from the Swedish Tax Agency were reviewed. A total of 30 victims were identified. Frequency analyses show that the most common features were that of a single offender, averaging 25 years old, with a non-Swedish background and a high school degree. The predominately extrafamilial CSA (i.e. committed by an acquaintance to the family) occurred in a private setting and consisted of penetrative acts. Girls averaging 13 years old were abused multiple times, under fear and pressure. Although assumptions based on these results are preliminary, they provide a clearer image of the typical circumstances under which CSA occurred within this time frame and geographical location. This study is a first attempt to construct an overview of demographic characteristics of CSA. As more data are gathered from this region, more sophisticated analyses can be conducted, providing stronger generalizations. Information of this kind may be important for research, classification of offender profiling and in case linking.

Keywords: Child sexual abuse; child molestation; child rape; demographic characteristics; frequency analysis; offender characteristics.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

References

    1. Finkelhor D. Child sexual abuse: new theory and research. New York (NY): Free Press; 1984.
    1. Stoltenborgh M, Bakermans‐Kranenburg MJ, Alink LR, et al. . The prevalence of child maltreatment across the globe: review of a series of meta‐analyses. Child Abuse Rev. 2015;24:37–50.
    1. Wihbey J. Global prevalence of child sexual abuse: Journalist Resource; 2011. [cited 2021 September 1]. Available from: https://journalistsresource.org/criminal-justice/global-prevalence-child...
    1. Baker AW, Duncan SP.. Child sexual abuse: a study of prevalence in Great Britain. Child Abuse Negl. 1985;9:457–467. - PubMed
    1. BRÅ . Child rapes reported to the police: an update and comparison of the years 1995 and 2008. Stockholm: (Sweden): Brottsförebyggande rådet; 2011.