ONE in 14 adults in England and Wales have suffered sexual abuse as a child, according to the first research of its kind.

The Crime Survey for England and Wales, published yesterday, found that 11 per cent of women and 3 per cent of men said they were sexually assaulted during their childhood.

They suggested that 567,000 adult women aged between 16 and 59, and 102,000 men in the same age bracket, had suffered “sexual assault by rape or penetration” as minors.