IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v20y2023i9p5727-d1139722.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Prevalence, Correlates, and Sequelae of Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) among Indigenous Canadians: Intersections of Ethnicity, Gender, and Socioeconomic Status

Author

Listed:
  • L. Maaike Helmus

    (Department of Criminology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6, Canada)

  • Ashley Kyne

    (Department of Criminology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6, Canada)

Abstract

Child sexual abuse (CSA) is a severe and concerning public-health problem globally, but some children are at higher risk of experiencing it. The harms caused by colonization and particularly the inter-generational legacy of residential schools would presumably increase the vulnerability of Indigenous children in former British colonies. Among 282 Indigenous participants in Canada recruited from Prime Panels, CSA was reported by 35% of boys, 50% of girls, and 57% of trans and gender non-conforming participants. These rates are substantially higher than global meta-analytic estimates (7.6% of boys and 18.0% of girls). There was evidence of intersectionality based on socioeconomic status. CSA was associated with a variety of other indicators of negative childhood experiences and significantly predicted numerous negative outcomes in adulthood, including mental-health issues (e.g., PTSD), unemployment, and criminal legal-system involvement. Sexual abuse of Indigenous Canadian children is a public-health crisis, and layers of marginalization (e.g., gender, social class) exacerbate this risk. Trauma-informed services to address the harms of colonization are severely needed, in line with recommendations from Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Suggested Citation

  • L. Maaike Helmus & Ashley Kyne, 2023. "Prevalence, Correlates, and Sequelae of Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) among Indigenous Canadians: Intersections of Ethnicity, Gender, and Socioeconomic Status," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(9), pages 1-16, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:20:y:2023:i:9:p:5727-:d:1139722
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/9/5727/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/9/5727/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jones, D.S., 2006. "The persistence of American Indian health disparities," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 96(12), pages 2122-2134.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Button, Patrick & Walker, Brigham, 2020. "Employment discrimination against Indigenous Peoples in the United States: Evidence from a field experiment," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    2. Akee, Randall K. Q. & Feir, Donn. L., 2016. "Excess Mortality, Institutionalization and Homelessness Among Status Indians in Canada," IZA Discussion Papers 10416, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Katherine Leggat-Barr & Fumiya Uchikoshi & Noreen Goldman, 2021. "COVID-19 risk factors and mortality among Native Americans," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 45(39), pages 1185-1218.
    4. Lisa Smith & Christina Wade & Jason Case & Linda Harwell & Kendra Straub & James Summers, 2015. "Evaluating the Transferability of a U.S. Human Well-Being Index (HWBI) Framework to Native American Populations," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 124(1), pages 157-182, October.
    5. Vanessa Y. Hiratsuka & Julie A. Beans & Renee F. Robinson & Jennifer L. Shaw & Ileen Sylvester & Denise A. Dillard, 2017. "Self-Determination in Health Research: An Alaska Native Example of Tribal Ownership and Research Regulation," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-11, October.
    6. Caroline King & Sidney Atwood & Mia Lozada & Adrianne Katrina Nelson & Chris Brown & Samantha Sabo & Cameron Curley & Olivia Muskett & Endel John Orav & Sonya Shin, 2018. "Identifying risk factors for 30-day readmission events among American Indian patients with diabetes in the Four Corners region of the southwest from 2009 to 2016," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(8), pages 1-10, August.
    7. David G. Blanchflower & Donn. L. Feir, 2023. "Native Americans’ experience of chronic distress in the USA," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 36(2), pages 885-909, April.
    8. Akee, Randall K. Q. & Feir, Donn. L. & Gorzig, Marina Mileo & Myers Jr, Samuel, 2022. "Native American "Deaths of Despair" and Economic Conditions," IZA Discussion Papers 15546, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    9. Rebecca Newlin Hutchinson & Sonya Shin, 2014. "Systematic Review of Health Disparities for Cardiovascular Diseases and Associated Factors among American Indian and Alaska Native Populations," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(1), pages 1-9, January.
    10. Brown, Hayley & Bryder, Linda, 2023. "Universal healthcare for all? Māori health inequalities in Aotearoa New Zealand, 1975–2000," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 319(C).
    11. Cynthia Agumanu McOliver & Anne K. Camper & John T. Doyle & Margaret J. Eggers & Tim E. Ford & Mary Ann Lila & James Berner & Larry Campbell & Jamie Donatuto, 2015. "Community-Based Research as a Mechanism to Reduce Environmental Health Disparities in American Indian and Alaska Native Communities," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-25, April.
    12. Subica, Andrew M. & Link, Bruce G., 2022. "Cultural trauma as a fundamental cause of health disparities," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 292(C).
    13. Whitney E. Zahnd & Cathryn Murphy & Marie Knoll & Gabriel A. Benavidez & Kelsey R. Day & Radhika Ranganathan & Parthenia Luke & Anja Zgodic & Kewei Shi & Melinda A. Merrell & Elizabeth L. Crouch & Hea, 2021. "The Intersection of Rural Residence and Minority Race/Ethnicity in Cancer Disparities in the United States," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-26, February.
    14. Samuel Fishman, 2020. "An extended evaluation of the weathering hypothesis for birthweight," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 43(31), pages 929-968.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:20:y:2023:i:9:p:5727-:d:1139722. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.