April 2018 

Julia Korkman, Jan Antfolk, Monica Fagerlund & Pekka Santtila

Scholars and investigators of child sexual abuse (CSA) have long pointed out that some CSA allegations may be unfounded. However, no population-based estimates of the occurrence of false allegations has previously been undertaken. The present study presents the first population-based prevalence estimates of unfounded allegations of CSA. We analyzed two data collections: first, a representative sample of adolescents (N = 11,364; aged 12 or 15 years), and second, a representative sample of adults (N = 2,484, mean age 34 years). Experiences of CSA were reported by 2.4% of adolescents and 8.9% of adults. Unfounded suspicions of CSA (e.g., someone falsely believing CSA had taken place) were reported by 1.5% of adolescents and 1.9% of adults. Of the unfounded suspicions, 14.5% and 9.1%, for adolescents and adults, respectively, had been reported to the authorities. The prevalence of CSA seems to decrease while more and more allegations reach the authorities. Whereas a low threshold for reporting suspicions of CSA to authorities is in the interest of protecting as many actual CSA victims as possible, more research is needed to separate unfounded vs. founded allegations to minimize the risk of erroneous conclusions in investigations of CSA.

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