Co-Occurrence of Child Sexual Abuse and Domestic Violence: A Scoping Review

Research shows that different forms of child maltreatment often co-occur, including child sexual abuse (CSA) and children’s exposure to adult domestic violence (DV). However, the extent of this co-occurrence remains poorly understood. This article presents findings from a scoping review of articles reporting prevalence data for co-occurring CSA and DV. The review included systematic searches and reviews of both scholarly and gray literature. Studies were included if they were published in English and reported childhood experiences of both CSA and DV, with no restrictions on publication date, geographic location, or methodology. This review collates findings from the 19 studies meeting the inclusion criteria. Prevalence rates for co-occurring CSA and DV ranged from 0.9% to 91%. Aside from general methodological differences across the studies, this review identified the target population as an important source of variation in prevalence estimates. Samples drawn from the general, CSA victim/survivor, and DV victim/survivor target populations revealed different patterns, with the CSA population exhibiting significantly higher rates of co-occurrence with DV compared to the other two groups. The review also found that there are sex differences in co-occurring CSA and DV just as there are for each type of abuse individually. This article summarizes the available data on co-occurring CSA and DV, points to areas where future research is needed, and highlights implications for practice.