SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4 News) – Every child deserves to be loved, cared for and kept safe. Alarming data show, however, that around one in five children across the country is sexually abused before the age of 18. This robs them of childhood innocence and exposes them to ubiquitous, harmful effects that can have a lifelong impact on their physical, mental, and behavioral health.
According to the Younique Foundation, children between the ages of seven and 13 are most vulnerable. Minors with disabilities are three times more likely to be victims of sexual abuse, and 80% of the cases of sexual abuse are children who know their abuser. In Utah, 21% of high school age girls report having been sexually assaulted in the past 12 months.
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