Common Signs of Child Sexual Abuse
Mothers and parents may notice their child changing without any clear reasons. While kids express themselves differently as they reach different developmental stages, some changes may be symptoms of childhood sexual abuse.
These are some common signs of child sexual abuse:
- Aggressiveness
- Anxiety
- Bruises
- Changes in appetite
- Depression
- Genital injuries or infections
- Interest in age-inappropriate sexual activities
- Poor hygiene
- Running away
- Weight loss
Talking about sexual trauma is difficult for people of any age, and kids may not have the language to discuss their assault. If you notice strange changes in your child’s mood or behavior, it could mean they’ve experienced sexual assault.
Get a free case review now to see if you can take legal action on behalf of your child.
Signs of Different Child Sex Abuse Types
People take sexual advantage of children in several ways, so signs can vary. Learning the symptoms for different child sexual abuse types could help you understand whether it’s happening in your family.
Kids may experience these kinds of sexual trauma:
- Physical sexual abuse, causing bruises, bleeding, infections, and more
- Non-contact sexual abuse, leading to changes in mood and behavior
- Virtual sexual abuse, causing chronic internet use, secretiveness, and more
“Of all girls who experienced sexual abuse, 65% reported that the abuse occurred more than once, 57% reported that the abuser was a family member, and 53% reported that the abuse occurred at home.”
— American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists, Committee on Health Care for Underserved Women
Reflect on your child’s routine, recent activities, who they’ve spent time with, and how their behavior or health has changed. Gathering evidence and noting possible sex abuse signs can help you move forward.
Physical Sexual Abuse Signs
Physical sexual abuse involves physically assaulting a child for sexual gratification. The act may not always result in injuries, making it challenging to recognize.
Signs of physical sexual abuse include:
- Bedwetting
- Bleeding
- Bowel problems
- Bruising
- Changes in appetite
- Injuries or infections in the genital area
- Painful urination
- Poor hygiene
- Sore throats
- Weight loss or gain
Any unexplained injuries or sudden changes are worth discussing with a pediatric health care provider. They can clarify if your child’s injuries are typical for their stage of life or whether you’re seeing the warning signs of child abuse.
Non-Contact Sexual Abuse Signs
People can sexually assault children without touching them. Non-contact abuse through forced viewing of pornography or nudity can traumatize kids.
Non-contact sexual abuse can cause:
- Age-inappropriate sexual behaviors or knowledge
- Anxiety
- Delays in developmental milestones
- Depression
- Developmental regression
- Disinterest in formerly beloved activities
- Eagerness to please
- Fear of certain caregivers, people, or places
- Low self-esteem
- Poor hygiene
- Self-stimulatory behaviors
A mental health counselor or doctor could help you understand your child’s development. You’re not alone if you’re worried about potential signs of abuse and want to get them help.
Call us at (877) 640-6101 to tell our compassionate team what’s happening and learn about your legal rights.
Signs of Virtual Sexual Abuse
Virtual sexual abuse can happen on any internet-connected device or website. Kids may meet people who sexually abuse them through video games like Roblox®, messages, and other communication platforms.
Kids who are sexually abused online may:
- Become secretive about games or messages on platforms like Discord®
- Create accounts without parental approval
- Feel distressed about missing notifications
- Spend an extreme amount of time online
- Talk with people online who aren’t people you know in real life
- Use electronic devices late at night
Mental health symptoms like anxiety or depression can also follow child sexual abuse that happens online. For example, kids and teens sexually blackmailed by the 764 Group became emotionally withdrawn and started self-harming after meeting group members online.
When to Call 911 About Signs of Child Abuse
Understanding whether your child is experiencing sexual abuse is challenging. Feeling uncertain makes it even harder to know when to call 911.
Here’s when you should report child abuse:
- A person left an assaulted child alone in an unsafe environment
- Someone is threatening your child’s life or well-being
- Your child has severe trauma, like deep wounds, genital injuries, or broken bones
- Your child is actively being assaulted
First responders can help if there is immediate danger. Getting your child to a safe location and having them seen by medical professionals is the most important thing.
Long-Term Signs and Effects of Child Sexual Abuse
The indicators of child sexual abuse may not become apparent for years. Children might not want to talk about it or could feel too scared of their abuser to tell an adult what happened.
The long-term effects of childhood sexual abuse include:
- A tendency to get into dangerous situations
- Distorted self-perception
- Eating disorders
- Gastrointestinal disorders
- Gynecologic problems, including chronic pelvic pain
- Mental health issues like depression, anger, or anxiety
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, like nightmares or flashbacks
- Risky sexual behaviors
- Self-harm
- Unintended or early adolescent pregnancy
- Worsened school performance
Even if the sexual trauma occurred years ago, you may still have time to file a child sexual abuse lawsuit. Your state’s statute of limitations, a deadline for taking legal action, may not have passed.
How to File a Child Sexual Abuse Lawsuit
Once you’ve spotted the signs of child sex abuse, you might want to take legal action. A child sexual assault lawsuit could help you seek accountability for your child’s suffering.
Here’s how you can file a child sexual abuse lawsuit:
- Get a free case review by contacting our team. We’ll help you understand if you qualify after listening to your story.
- Speak with a child sexual abuse lawyer about what comes next.
- Rest while your attorney gathers evidence to support your case, including medical records, texts, and emails.
- Your lawyer can file a sexual abuse lawsuit before legal deadlines pass.
- Support your family at home while your child sexual abuse attorney takes your case to court and negotiates a settlement, if possible.
The child sexual abuse lawyers in our network have recovered $10.5 Billion to date for victims of injustice.
Talking with someone about your child’s suspected abuse may feel difficult, but our compassionate team can provide support. We’ll listen and answer your questions so you feel confident about the next best step for your family.
Notable Child Sexual Abuse Settlements
Child sexual abuse settlements are payouts negotiated out of court. However, sometimes compensation is awarded in verdicts if lawsuits go to trial.
The most notable child sexual abuse settlements include:
- $4 billion for 7,000 claims of child sexual abuse in Los Angeles County’s juvenile facilities and foster homes
- $19.5 million to a brother and sister who claimed to have suffered sexual abuse in the 1970s while in a New Jersey foster home
- $13 million for a family who filed a child sexual abuse case against their child’s middle school teacher
- $5 million to a woman who accused her uncle of sexually abusing her while she was a child in the 1960s
- $660 million for people claiming they were sexually abused as young children by clergy members at the Archdiocese of Los Angeles
- $2.4 billion to roughly 82,000 people claiming they experienced sexual abuse from group leaders while enrolled in the Boy Scouts of America
The value of a child sexual abuse settlement depends on the extent and severity of the harm your child experienced. Compensation could help your family cover lost income, therapy, time away from school, and medical treatments.
If you think your family might qualify to take legal action, our team can connect you with expert childhood sexual abuse attorneys in our network.
Get your free case review today to take the first step.
Pursue Justice After Seeing Signs of Child Abuse
Once you think you’ve seen the signs of child sexual abuse in your family, it’s time to take action. The Her Case Matters team is here to listen to your concerns and help you understand if you may be able to seek justice.
It’s crucial to take warning signs of child sexual abuse seriously and ask questions sooner rather than later. Doing so could help get your child to a safe space so they can receive the care they need.
Get a free case review now or call us at (877) 640-6101 to talk with our team. If your child has experienced child sexual assault, our partner lawyers are ready to represent you and negotiate a settlement that helps your family recover.
Signs of Child Sexual Abuse FAQs
What are the symptoms of childhood abuse trauma?
The symptoms of childhood sexual abuse trauma affect their physical, mental, and emotional development. They may be difficult to spot at first, so it’s important to stay vigilant.
The warning signs of child abuse include:
- Age-inappropriate knowledge of sexual topics
- Anxiety or depression
- Developmental regression
- Disinterest in activities or hobbies
- Eating disorders
- Fear of going home
- Gastrointestinal disorders
- Poor hygiene
- Weight loss or gain
We’re here to listen to your concerns without judgment. Contact us now to discuss what you’re seeing in your child and learn if you can take legal action.
What are the five forms of childhood trauma?
Childhood trauma varies, but there are five forms kids may experience as they grow up. They might not even realize they’ve endured trauma until years later.
The five forms of childhood trauma include:
- Emotional abuse
- Physical abuse
- Physical neglect
- Seeing violence
- Sexual assault
The signs of sexual abuse in a child are sometimes hard to notice. Understanding which hardships kids face could help you better understand what your child may or may not have gone through.
What are the warning signs of a sexual predator?
Sexual predators often try to build trust with their targets and lower their defenses over time. You may not see their abusive behaviors if you’re not their intended victim.
Here are some warning signs of sexual predators:
- They limit who a child is allowed to see
- They share secrets with the victim to build trust
- They’re easily jealous when their victim spends time with other adults
- They’re highly interested in physical play with kids
Call us at (877) 640-6101 to talk about whether your child may have been sexually abused. Our team is standing by to listen and help you get answers.
How common is child sexual abuse?
The Indiana Center for Prevention of Youth Abuse & Suicide found that one in every four girls is sexually abused before she’s 18 years old. One in every six boys endures the same type of trauma.
Experts with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also note that about 90% of child sexual abuse happens at the hands of someone the child or their family trusts.
Kids may not know how to describe what happened to them. It’s crucial that parents understand the signs of child sexual abuse to advocate for their kids and get them to safety.
How do I file a child sexual abuse lawsuit?
You can contact Her Case Matters to discuss your eligibility for a child sexual abuse lawsuit. If you think you may have a case, don’t hesitate to reach out.
Depending on where you live, the deadline to file your lawsuit could be as little as two years from the date of the abuse. Some states also have deadlines specific to the victim’s age in adulthood.
Get a free case review now to discuss your legal rights. We’ll listen to what happened and connect you with the childhood sexual abuse lawyers in our network if you qualify.
Written by: Her Case Matters
At HerCaseMatters, we believe women deserve to be heard — especially when it comes to their health and safety. Too often, harmful drugs, devices, and corporate wrongdoing impact women’s lives without proper warning, support, or accountability. We’re here to change that. We work with trusted legal partners who are deeply experienced in holding powerful companies accountable. But more than that, we’re here to remind women everywhere that their pain is real, their experiences matter, and they deserve justice.
- Alaska Department of Family and Community Services. (n.d.). Know the signs: Sexual abuse. Retrieved from: https://dfcs.alaska.gov/ocs/Pages/childrensjustice/reporting/know_sa.aspx.
- American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. (August 2011). Adult manifestations of childhood sexual abuse. Retrieved from: https://www.acog.org/clinical/clinical-guidance/committee-opinion/articles/2011/08/adult-manifestations-of-childhood-sexual-abuse.
- County of Los Angeles. (April 4, 2025). LA County reaches $4 billion tentative settlement in thousands of sexual abuse cases. Retrieved from: https://lacounty.gov/2025/04/04/la-county-reaches-4-billion-tentative-settlement-in-thousands-of-sexual-abuse-cases/.
- Courthouse News Service. (January 12, 2026). Supreme Court rejects Boy Scouts sex abuse victims’ bankruptcy settlement appeal. Retrieved from: https://www.courthousenews.com/supreme-court-rejects-boy-scouts-sex-abuse-victims-bankruptcy-settlement-appeal/.
- Indiana Center for the Prevention of Youth Abuse & Suicide. (n.d.). Child abuse statistics. Retrieved from: https://www.indianaprevention.org/child-abuse-statistics.
- Justia. (February 18, 2026). Quentin v Knox. Retrieved from: https://law.justia.com/cases/new-york/appellate-division-second-department/2026/2025-02109.html.
- National Office for Child Safety. (n.d.). Signs and indicators of child sexual abuse. Retrieved from: https://www.childsafety.gov.au/about-child-sexual-abuse/signs-and-indicators-child-sexual-abuse.
- NBC News. (July 14, 2007). L.A. Archdiocese to settle suits for $660 million. Retrieved from: https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna19762878.
- NJ.com. (May 29, 2025). N.J. to pay siblings $19.5M for years of sexual abuse by foster parents decades ago. Retrieved from: https://www.nj.com/news/2025/05/nj-to-pay-siblings-195m-for-years-of-sexual-abuse-by-foster-parents-decades-ago.html.
- Psychiatrist.com. (September 13, 2012). Five forms of childhood trauma: Relationships with aggressive behavior in adulthood. Retrieved from: https://www.psychiatrist.com/pcc/five-forms-childhood-trauma-relationships-aggressive/.
- Sokolove Law. (June 11, 2026). Sexual abuse statute of limitations. Retrieved from: https://www.sokolovelaw.com/personal-injury/sexual-abuse/statute-of-limitations/.
- U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (May 16, 2024). About child sexual abuse. Retrieved from: https://www.cdc.gov/child-abuse-neglect/about/about-child-sexual-abuse.html.
- WAMC. (January 9, 2026). Record settlement reached for victim’s family at center of Springfield middle school child sex abuse case. Retrieved from: https://www.wamc.org/news/2026-01-09/record-settlement-reached-for-victims-family-at-center-of-springfield-middle-school-child-sex-abuse-case.
