Child sexual abuse has been reported up to 80,000 times a year, but the number of unreported instances is far greater, because the children are afraid to tell anyone what has happened (American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry). Childhood sexual abuse is a traumatic experience affecting the lives of not only the victim, but those close to the victim as well. Many think there is only one person truly traumatized, but in fact, everyone involved is affected. The victim has to deal with their experience the rest of their lives. They may be more at risk for other mental issues as well, including depression. The family involved has to deal with its pain, often causing hardship and discord within the family. This is especially true when the perpetrator is a member of the family. The perpetrator has issues now to deal with. The main question is what is causing them to abuse? If the perpetrator is a child, they then have a longer, harder road to fulfilling treatment, but at least they have a better chance at recovery. Then even the therapists involved have to deal with their own personal issues and deal with the horrific tales of their patients. They too, need to be recognized as someone who is affected by childhood sexual abuse.
There is no definite definition on what childhood sexual abuse is. Childhood sexual abuse can involve body contact, but not always. Exposing one's genitals to children or pressuring them for sex is sexual abuse. Using a child for pornography is also sexual abuse.
Most sexual abusers know the child they abuse. They may be family friends, neighbors or babysitters. About one-third of abusers are related to the child. Most abusers are men. (National Library of Medicine). However, what if the ...
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...erapists did, in vicarious trauma. Many families and many victims find it easier to just overlook the facts, and pretend that it never happened. Child sexual abuse is not something that is easily talked about, but with more public outreach, child sexual abuse may be avoided for many children. With more openness and less fear about the subject, adults who were victims of child sexual abuse can begin to heal. With more support, child sexual abuse can be stopped in many cases. The public needs to keep in mind that there is more than one victim. When one child of society is victimized, the whole society has been molested. John Donne said it best many hundred years ago:
"No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent,…
because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bells
tolls; it tolls for thee."
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.
I feel that sexual abuse is a horrible crime and sometimes hard to prove because the victim is
A pervert is not always just sexually molesting children but also women and men in their mature ages. Most guilty pedofiles claim they rape children and individuals because they are afraid of rejection of individuals their own age so they resort to an easily attainable human being (McLeod). Therapy to try and curve the direction of pedofiles sexual needs can help them cope with their abnormal sex drive and mental imperative. Some children experience a situation with their own father. It is actually common for a daughter’s father to rape her starting at a young age. A young woman by the name of Fran Henry, experienced sexual abuse by her own father (“Shedding Light”). She spoke out against child molesting and wanted to create a helpline for those who were victimized or the rapists themselves. Henry stated, “The abuse I suffered was egregious and affected every aspect of my life. But as an adult, I confronted my father. I realized that what I really wanted was not to see him in jail but to make it less likely to see other children suffer from what I had.” The importance of growing up in today’s society and being educated about sexual abuse is an important aspect of knowledge everyone should have. Many parents also do not recognize the warning signs from their children early on to
"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.
In the first four years approximately 118 cases were based on an abuser calling to tell their story about being abused. (Tabachnick, 1997). Prior to this program they were no reports of disclosure of child sexual abuse in Vermont. (Tabachnick,
Within the last few decades there has been an increase in public awareness concerning child sexual abuse. Child abuse is defined as intentional acts that result in physical or emotional harming. However most people don’t understand that there are different forms a child abuse; they include physical, neglect, and sexual abuse. Child abuse is widespread, one that most topics people would rather not think about. For the longest time individuals have been in denial because it’s easier when everyone believes that they live in a perfect world.
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.
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.
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...
The lasting effects of childhood sexual assault into adulthood can be debilitating is resiliency possible. I chose this topic because it is of great interest to me I am a survivor of childhood sexual abuse. Upon starting the research, I had preconceived notions of what would be found. Lasting effects can be, low self-esteem, sexual promiscuity, sexual issues, attachment issues, suppression of the abuse, PTSD, grieving a lost childhood, and a feeling of always wanting to be in control of situations. In addition, I expected to find some might suffer from nightmares, eating disorders, poor academic achievement, OCD issues, a feeling of inferiority and not fitting in, as well as parental rejection. To coin a phrase from Friedrich Nietzsche, “What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger” (Nietzsche, 2001-2011 ©) I believe with a proper support system of family, friends, and counseling resiliency can and will prevail.
The effects of child abuse are multiple. The pain and trauma the abused child goes through is just a small part of how this cauldron of hidden depravity in our society affects all of us. Wrecked lives can be seen in persons of all ages and in all walks of life. Society as a whole is also effected by child abuse both in negative and positive ways. In this essay I will present some of the factor and results of this violent behavior on individuals as well as our culture.
Around 5 children die every day because of child abuse (2014). In 2010, 1,537 children died of abuse or neglect, 79.4 percent were under the age of 4 and 47.7 percent were under the age of 1(2014). There are 3.6 million Cases of child abuse reported every year in the U.S. And the number of children involved in these reports is 6 million (Steve Buffone). About 80 percent of 21-year-olds who were abused as children met criteria for at least one psychological disorder (2014). Mentally, physically, and psychologically children are fragile and delicate and so is the human brain. Psychologically it is important to meet the needs of the victims but it is equally important to be a great resource for them as well. The trauma of abuse will follow a child all the way into adult hood and help is important. Without help and support children as they grow up are more like to become involved in crime, they are more likely to abuse drugs, and they are more likely to abuse their own children. This literature review will determine the efficiency and effectiveness of services by answering these questions:
More importantly, “60 percent of children who are sexually abused do not disclose and most are acquaintances but as many as 47 percent are family or extended family” (The Scope of, 2016). The prevalence of child sexual abuse is difficult to determine because it is often not reported; experts agree that the incidence is far greater than what is reported to authorities (Child Sexual Abuse, 2012). Startling statistics represent the depth of the issue. Globally, prevalence rates show that a range of 7-36% of women and 3-29% of men experience sexual abuse in childhood (The Scope of, 2016). “The U.S Department of Health and Human Services’ Children’s Bureau report child maltreatment 2010 found that 9.2% of victimized children were sexually assaulted” (Child Sexual Abuse,