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impacts of child sexual abuse
effects of child abuse
impacts of child sexual abuse
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This paper is about how to deal with or counsel children who have been sexually abused, and the long term effects from sexual abuse that children may develop from this kind of abuse. This paper will consist of a counseling model that is sufficient, effective, and necessary when dealing with children who have been sexually abused. In this paper, gender is targeted most in sexual abuse, and why most children are unaware of sexual abuse coming. Also, being discussed is the different types of sexual abuse children can endure and why their abusers might choose them. Children who experience any sexual act of abuse needs to be involved in a sufficient therapy to confront and overcome their traumatic event and effects of sexual abuse. Children should never experience sexual abuse feeling powerless and victimized. Finally, this paper will discuss an effective counseling model that can be utilized for children that are sexually abused. Many children who have experienced sexual abuse do not realize the impact it has on their lives. Children are afraid to break the silence about their sexual abuse and report it because of the reaction from parents, family members, or the fear of breaking up the family. Children keep quiet about their sexual abuse because of their involvement and fear of being rejected by others. Children may also keep silent due to the fear of their perpetrator or their perpetrator has trained the child to believe it was their fault. Many children who have never received the proper help will suffer with long lasting effects from sexual abuse. It is very important to counsel children who have been sexually abused at a young age. Sexual abuse can be very harmful in a child’s younger and adolescent years when developing in the ... ... middle of paper ... ...lopmental and psychological stages in life. Children who have experienced sexual abuse will go through stages of displaying feelings, thoughts, fear, hurt and pain which can have short-term and long term effects on a child development stage and adolescent stage. Through effective play therapy in the counseling process, children will be able to function properly through their problems and experiences that have occurred. The approaches that are incorporated in this counseling model were Play Therapy and Child-Centered Play Therapy. The main approach used in this counseling model was Child- Centered Play Therapy. CCPT allows children who are incapable of communicating effectively to verbally express themselves through a child natural language play. This counseling model consists of many components that make this model effective when counseling children sexually abused.
An estimated 39 million survivors of childhood sexual abuse exist in America today (Darness2Light, 2009a ). This figure continues to grow daily as perpetrators of this crime continue in this destructive path. The definition of child sexual abuse is the force, coercion, or cajoling of children into sexual activities by a dominant adult or adolescent. Sexual abuse of children includes touching (physical) sexually including: fondling; penetration (vaginal or anal using fingers, foreign objects or offenders organs; oral sex, or non-physical contact including: sexual comments; indecent exposures; masturbating in a child’s presence; child prostitution or child pornography (Child Welfare, 2009a).
Child sexual abuse is defined as “the involvement of a child in sexual activity that he or she does not fully comprehend, is unable to give informed consent to, or for which the child is not developmentally prepared, or else that violates the laws or social taboos of society” (Ajduković, Sušac, and Rajter 470). In Bastard out of Carolina, Ruth Ann “Bone” Boatwright started experiencing sexual child abuse from her stepfather at the age of twelve, which changed aspects of her life forever. Coincidentally, it was proven through research that young girls between the ages of 13 and 16 suffered sexual abuse by adult men that they knew previously (Ajduković, Sušac, and Rajter 475). While it could be a family member, an acquaintance, or a friend, the feelings of betrayal remain the same.
Child Abuse is a worldwide issue, children are being abused on a daily basis. Child abuse occurs more often than people think. Child abuse comes in many forms such as: emotional, physi-cal, sexual, neglect, and verbal abuse. In the study by Carpenter, Shattuck, Tyrka, Geracioti, and Price (2011), the reader can see how child abuse can alter the whole way someone looks at the world. Child abuse is a serious problem that affects even the victim 's family or friends. Victims of child abuse show many signs of the trauma they have faced.
"Understanding Child Sexual Abuse: Education, Prevention and Recovery." Http://www.apa.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Apr. 2014.
The effects of childhood sexual abuse carry on with the children forever. To what extent and to what effect does abuse have on children during adulthood? What are the main issues that adults have been abused suffer from in adulthood? Do they have more of a physical issue with preforming with their partner in the bedroom or do they have more of a mental block due to their trauma? The world had been asking these questions for far too long and we need answers on how helping the children of our world. The questions that have been stated have been answered through the two articles that will be summarized below.
This paper outlines the consequences of child sexual abuse (CSA) based on the examination of results from multiple researches previously fulfilled concerning the psychological and physical impact of this crime, information of statistics, warning signs detected, victims’ performances, and emotional state. Sexual abuse causes severe trauma on child victims that will last for the course of their lives, therefore it is critical to identify and improve the therapeutic methods utilized to treat CSA survivors.
Children who have been abused are left with more than just physical scars. They have many psychological, emotional, and behavioral problems as well. Their social lives are affected dramatically, and they suffer lifelong effects. (Lambert) Children tend to be emotionally disturbed years after the abuse, many have IQ scores lower than average, and some have even been classified as mentally retarded. Children who have been abused also show signs of personality and neurological changes. (Oates 119) Sexual abuse has been linked to nightmares, bed wetting, sadness, clinging behavior, and anxiety. Children also showed more aggressive and anti-social behaviors. (Oates 127) Adults who were sexually abused are more prone to depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, and drug or alcohol problems. (Oates 132-133) Studies show overwhelming evidence of the effects abuse can have on a child, and the way the effects continue into their adult lives. (Oates 135)
Child abuse is a serious issue in today's society. Many people have been victims of child abuse. There are three forms of child abuse: physical, emotional, and sexual. Many researchers believe that sexual abuse is the most detremental of the three. A middle-aged adult who is feeling depressed will probably not relate it back to his childhood, but maybe he should. The short-term effects of childhood sexual abuse have been proven valid, but now the question is, do the long-term effects of childhood sexual abuse affect middle-aged adults? Many contradicting views arise from the subject of childhood sexual abuse. Researchers and psychologists argue on this issue. Childhood sexual abuse has the potential to damage a child physically, emotionally, and behaviorally for the rest of his or her childhood, and the effects have been connected to lasting into middle-aged adulthood.
When a child is abused, depending on the severity, it can be a lifelong of painful events, emotions and physical effects on the child. It is amazing how child abuse is seldom a single event; rather, it occurs on a regular base. It crosses all boundaries of income, race, ethnicity, and religious faith. A child abuser is usually closely related to the child, such as a parent, step-parent or other caregiver (KMI). The effects are often very damaging and agonizing, resulting in children or adolescence needing psychological help and sometimes even medication for a life time. Particular when children are molested or sexually abused, numerous times it is by ones family members or someone they know very well, frequently it creates more mental anguish on both the child and the family members. There are many play therapy treatments that can assist parents, schools, and the victims of such horrendous defilements to children and adolescents. This paper will discuss some of the effects of children/adolescences who have been sexually abused. It will also briefly discuss a portion of the Gestalt Play Therapy counseling methods that will help a child or adolescent recover and cope from such events. Lastly, it will give a brief counseling session of a young teenage girl who has possibly been sexual abused and later victimized an adolescence girl. The Empty Chair method will be shared to show how quickly results can occur for her particular situation, where some unresolved abuse may have taken place, as well as helping the adolescence take responsibility for her actions, which is very important in the Gestalt Therapy.
Sexual abuse cannot be clearly defined with ease. In fact, sexual abuse is an umbrella term for any sort of situation, whether or not it involves physical contact, in which a sexually immature child is exposed to anything sexual in nature. Because no child is psychologically mature enough for sexual stimulation, the complex feelings associated with it are mentally and emotionally disfiguring. Children who have been sexually abused experience an array of negative emotions such as shame, guilt and anger, and may display oddly withdrawn or distrustful behaviors. They cannot help but feel that they somehow brought the abuse unto themselves (Saisan, et al). One major contributing factor to these severe psychological consequences is the concept of trust. Sexual abuse is, in most cases, committed by a parent or other trusted adult figure. While children are naïve on such adult topics, they can still get an overwhelming feeling that the attention is wrong, yet they are unsure of how to cope with it. If the child has an emotional atta...
There are several domains that must be considered when treating a survivor of child abuse: the need for safety and trust, sense of belonging, protection from perceived or actual threats, facing the defendant in court, prevention of revictimization, and empowerment (Sawyer & Judd, 2012). Davis, 2005, states that “children terrorized through sexual abuse, neglect, physical abuse, or wartime atrocities may suffer from lasting wounds, nightmares, depression, and troubled adolescence involving substance abuse, binge eating, or aggression.” Victims of child abuse need to regain their sense of control over their lives. Experiencing healthy relationships, being nurtured by adults and helping them to learn resilience are all interventions that have been well-documented (Sawyer & Judd, 2...
Victims of sexual abuse vary in gender and age. To prepare them for counseling and therapeutic healing, it is critical that they return to a normal and safe society, and be educated about the psychological effects of the assault. Their recovery treatments should be tailored to the victim to better facilitate their needs and for faster recovery, but nevertheless, it should still foster growth, healing, and resolving the traumas of the survivor, ensuring that they can take control of their
Sexual abuse is one of the most disconcerting and perplexing problems social workers face in today’s society. Those that should be protecting their children are either the perpetrator or oblivious to the fact that their child is being sexually abused. The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) states, “Child sexual abuse is a form of child abuse that includes sexual activity with a minor” (2016). Sexual abuse destroys a child’s innocence. It causes the victim to demonstrate poor decision making resulting in behavioral issues and inhibits socialization skills needed for positive interaction with peers and proper adult influences.
Children are the future of today’s society and their interactions when they are young are extremely important and key to how they develop and grow into strong, independent individuals. They are extremely vulnerable to their surroundings and the people they come into contact with, which make those interactions most important. Children look up to people they trust that inspire them, and those connections made in the beginning of their lives are what help them to grow. They need adults in their life that they can trust and look up to and when sexual abuse is occurring, it makes that almost impossible. It is difficult to find a lot of information about reported cases of child sexual abuse because most remain unreported. I chose to research child sexual abuse because I feel very strongly and passionate about the safety and well being of children, as well as how their lives are affected after experiencing traumatic events. I will be discussing statistical information about child sexual abuse, the characteristics of perpetrators, risk factors of child sexual abuse, short-term effects of the abuse, the effect of child sexual abuse in later family life and lastly about effective programs designed to help victims of child abuse and their families.
It is most important to understand that children and teens of all racial, religious, ethnic, gender and age groups, at all socio-economic levels are sexually abused. Although there are risk factors that may increase the possibility of sexual abuse, sex abuse can be found in all types of families, communities, and cultures (The Scope of, 2016). Childhood sexual abuse is an important issue to address because the impact of sexual does not end when the abuse ends. Childhood trauma follows into adulthood and can have long-range effects. “Survivors of sexual abuse are at significantly greater risks for severe and chronic mental health issues, including alcoholism, depression, anxiety, PTSD and high risk behaviors” (The Scope Of, 2016). Victims may experience traumatic sexualization, or the shaping of their sexuality in “developmentally inappropriate” and “interpersonally dysfunctional” ways (Effects of Child, 2012). “A child who is the victim of prolonged sexual abuse usually develops low self-esteem, a feeling of worthlessness and an abnormal or distorted view of sex. The child may become withdrawn and mistrustful of adults, and can become suicidal” (Effects of Child, 2012). Overall, the effects and impact of childhood sexual abuse are long lasting and do not diminish when the abuse ends, their childhood trauma follows them into