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Objectives: No comprehensive analysis has yet been published regarding global trends in childhood sexual abuse (CSA) and bullying victimization (BV). The present study offers a longitudinal perspective on their prevalence worldwide.Methods: CSA and BV rates were extracted from the Global Burden of Disease study, spanning the years 1990 to 2019 across 204 countries. Trends by gender, region, and human development index (HDI) were examined.Results: For both boys and girls, and in both high-HDI and low-HDI countries, CSA rates did not significantly change from 1990 to 2019 (p>0.05). However, BV rates increased significantly in high-HDI and low-HDI countries for both genders (pp=0.029). In contrast, no significant pattern was observed for boys. Notably, BV demonstrated an increasing trend across all regions when HDI was not considered (pp<0.001). Globally, boys consistently exhibited higher BV rates than girls.Conclusions: Our research indicates that, on a global scale, rates of CSA among girls have been rising. Additionally, BV rates have increased in all regions for both boys and girls. Notably, this trend in BV rates is occurring irrespective of HDI. These findings underscore the necessity for targeted interventions in areas with high rates of CSA and BV.
Borumandnia et al. (Fri,) studied this question.