Treatments for child and adolescent victims of sexual violence: are they effective?

Abstract

Sexual violence among children and adolescents can have detrimental consequences. This article presents a brief overview of the current international knowledge base on the effectiveness of treatment programs for child and adolescent victims of sexual violence. Overall, treatment programs show moderate to large beneficial effects on victims’ well-being. Treatments that have a longer duration and shorter sessions are more effective than other treatments. Some of the challenges include that few victims receive treatment and that a considerable number of prior studies does not meet the standards for thorough effectiveness research.