The answer to this is always false. Thread on what child sexual abuse statistics look like in Minnesota. I am using this website: https://public.education.mn.gov/MDEAnalytics/DataTopic.jsp?TOPICID=242 For any given county, you want 2016, risk factors, and grade 9. https://twitter.com/MissingKids/status/1249739108890673153

Quick note about the data: All data is anonymized to the point that no individual child could be identified by manipulating the report demographics. If it cannot be anonymized, it is not reported publicly. Some limitations and underreporting present.

First, let us look at thefour biggest counties in Minnesota: Hennepin, Ramsey, Dakota, and Anoka.

Next four biggest: Washington County (think Stillwater), Saint Louis County (think Duluth), Stearns County (think St. Cloud), and Olmsted County (Rochester).

We see a theme - around 2-4% of children in these larger counties report being sexually abused by someone outside the family while around 1-2% report being sexually abused from within the family. We know from nonprofits that do work with these children that these are low numbers.

So what happens when we start at the opposite end of the population spectrum? Let us look at Traverse, Lake of the Woods, Red Lake, and Kittson:

So in theory, we see that some of the smaller counties have few to no cases of child sex abuse, right? Surely it is not a problem there, then? No - there are several possibilities for these results. Some may have possibly identified the child/children by including them...

...and were deliberately left out of the public results by the four agencies that oversee the survey (MN Depts. of Health, Education, Human Service, and Public Safety). Some children may not have understood the question properly or do not know what sexual touch means.

I know from the meeting minutes that an advocacy organization out of Red Lake County was present during the meeting where these tools were presented - they said they absolutely have cases of sex abuse and have helped many children who have suffered from sexual abuse.

If you are curious about the data in your county in Minnesota, the link and information is at the top of this thread. But the main point? Yes, sexual abuse happens in every single community - and that is why we need preventative steps to do something about it.