Peer-reviewed article

The Prevalence of Self-Reported Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse by Adults in the General Population: A Systematic Review and Proportional Meta-Analysis.

Whitten T, Cale J, Salter M · 21 Apr 2026

Abstract

This study synthesises the prevalence of self-reported child sexual exploitation and abuse (CSEA) perpetration by adults from the general population. We conducted a systematic review and proportional meta-analysis, searching eight electronic databases and grey literature sources up to August 1, 2025, supplemented by citation tracking. Inclusion criteria specified quantitative observational studies in English that sampled community-based adults (aged 18 and older) and reported primary, self-report data (numerator and denominator) on CSEA perpetration (contact or noncontact) against children (under 18). Studies using clinical, forensic, or specialised samples were excluded. Thirty-eight studies met the inclusion criteria. Proportional meta-analysis using random-effects models (with Hartung-Knapp adjustment to account for sparse data) yielded a sex-standardised prevalence for contact offending of 4.5% (any child age), 2.0% (pubescent), and 1.5% (prepubescent). Noncontact offending prevalence was 6.5% (any age), 6.2% (pubescent), and 1.7% (prepubescent). Subsequent analysis of sex-separated estimates, excluding influential outliers, found the prevalence of contact and noncontact offending against prepubescent children to be 1.6% and 2.5% for men and 1.0% and 0.5% for women, respectively. Among men, noncontact offending was approximately twice as prevalent as contact offending, whereas for women, contact and noncontact prevalences were similar. These findings are the first attempt to provide population-level benchmarks for self-reported CSEA perpetration, though results should be interpreted cautiously due to high heterogeneity and reliance on non-representative samples.