The analysis uses research and examples from Great Britain, Canada, Europe, North America, and developing countries. Individual chapters discuss cross-cultural perspectives on sexual behavior in children and adolescents, child sex rings, child and adolescent prostitution, child pornography, pedophilia, incest, young adult females who survived sexual abuse, policies for homosexual youth, the investigation and prevention of child sexual abuse, and policy issues. The text argues that the negative effects of child sexual abuse result from factors such as patterns of family dysfunction and the inhumane methods of processing child victims and that the humanistic approach puts the child's welfare first and the need to punish offenders second. It also argues that custodial sentences should be considered only for persistent pedophiles and for those who use violence against child victims and that prevention education at the primary school level has largely failed due to its failure to address the right of the child to avoid physical punishment. Further arguments are that the worst sexual crimes against children involve enforced prostitution and that mandatory reporting of suspected child sexual abusers has been ineffective and may actually have endangered children when pedophiles no longer feel able to consult with therapists about potential treatment. Tables, notes, index, and approximately 450 references