--- title: Child Sexual Abuse Statistics: Princess Madeleine of Sweden description: Princess Madeleine of Sweden shares why we need to stop child sexual abuse, and what we can do at home to protect our children. canonical: https://time.com/4502596/child-sex-abuse-statistics-princess-madeleine-sweden/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-09-29T14:33:18.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T09:03:25.543Z og:title: Princess Madeleine of Sweden: Why I’m Campaigning to End Child Sex Abuse og:description: Ending the cycle begins with parental action og:url: https://time.com/4502596/child-sex-abuse-statistics-princess-madeleine-sweden/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt852e3a22a0d4dcd9/6988a7478e06017d59467938/madeleine-of-sweden-child-sexual-abuse-statistics.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Paper cutout chain og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Princess Madeleine of Sweden: Why I’m Campaigning to End Child Sex Abuse twitter:description: Ending the cycle begins with parental action twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt852e3a22a0d4dcd9/6988a7478e06017d59467938/madeleine-of-sweden-child-sexual-abuse-statistics.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Princess Madeleine of Sweden: Why I’m Campaigning to End Child Sex Abuse by [Princess Madeleine of Sweden](https://time.com/author/princess-madeleine-of-sweden/) ## Princess Madeleine of Sweden Sep 29, 2016 2:33 PM UTC  Paper Cutout of Human Silhouette Paper Cutout of Human SilhouetteGetty Images by [Princess Madeleine of Sweden](https://time.com/author/princess-madeleine-of-sweden/) ## Princess Madeleine of Sweden Sep 29, 2016 2:33 PM UTC According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, nearly [60,000 children were sexually abused in the United States in 2014](http://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/cb/cm2014.pdf#page=31). Globally, [18% of women and 8% of men report being victims of childhood sexual abuse](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21511741). Despite these astronomical numbers, child sexual abuse is rarely discussed and solutions do not adequately address the public health crisis affecting such a large number of children. We know that children who are sexually abused are at a greater risk for later [mental health and anxiety syndromes](https://www.counseling.org/docs/disaster-and-trauma%5Fsexual-abuse/long-term-effects-of-childhood-sexual-abuse.pdf?), including depression and suicidal thoughts. The societal and economic consequences of not addressing the problem, or investing in prevention of, sexual abuse of children are grave. In 1999, my mother decided to use her voice to speak about children’s rights and founded the [World Childhood Foundation](http://www.childhood-usa.org/), which has since funded more than 1,000 projects in 20 countries. I have always admired my mother’s courage and aim to continue her work in combatting child sexual abuse. Now as a mother of two, I am even more determined to help create a world free from sexual abuse for all children in our lifetime. But it is not our children’s obligation to keep themselves safe. We, as adults, have an obligation to ensure that our children are surrounded by child protectors. Child sexual abuse thrives in silence. The first step in combatting sexual abuse is removing the stigma from discussing the abuse, which requires learning the facts, talking about it with our children and investing in prevention. **_Learn the facts_** **.** We live in a digital world and it is crucial that technology is integrated in our fight. The new mobile app “[Stewards of Children Prevention Toolkit](http://www.socapp.org/)” provides tools and educational resources for adults to prevent, recognize and respond to child sexual abuse. **_Talk about it._** Create a safe environment to talk to your child about sexual abuse, including body safety, anatomical language and personal boundaries. **_Recognize the signs._** The most common signs of sexual abuse are emotional and behavioral changes, such as “too perfect” behavior, withdrawal, fear, depression, unexplained anger and rebellion. Indirect physical signs can include anxiety, chronic stomach pain and headaches. **_React responsibly._** If a child shares that they have been abused, stay calm, praise the child’s courage and listen. As a new school year begins, let us commit together to keep our #[EyesWideOpen](http://www.childhood.org/2015/12/14/eyeswideopen/) and ensure that we keep the children in our lives safe from all forms of violence. _Her Royal Highness Princess Madeleine of Sweden works with the World Childhood Foundation and is the creator of the #EyesWideOpen initiative, to mobilize people to take action against childhood sexual assault._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4502596/child-sex-abuse-statistics-princess-madeleine-sweden/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4502596/child-sex-abuse-statistics-princess-madeleine-sweden/"},"headline":"Princess Madeleine of Sweden: Why I’m Campaigning to End Child Sex Abuse","datePublished":"2016-09-29T14:33:18.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T09:03:25.543Z","description":"Ending the cycle begins with parental action","url":"https://time.com/4502596/child-sex-abuse-statistics-princess-madeleine-sweden/","keywords":["motto"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt852e3a22a0d4dcd9/6988a7478e06017d59467938/madeleine-of-sweden-child-sexual-abuse-statistics.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Princess Madeleine of Sweden","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/princess-madeleine-of-sweden/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt852e3a22a0d4dcd9/6988a7478e06017d59467938/madeleine-of-sweden-child-sexual-abuse-statistics.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Paper cutout chain","caption":"Paper cutout chain","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/motto/","name":"motto"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4502596/child-sex-abuse-statistics-princess-madeleine-sweden/","name":"Princess Madeleine of Sweden: Why I’m Campaigning to End Child Sex Abuse"}}]}] ```