Has your child admitted that someone in their life has sexually abused them, and you aren’t sure where to turn? It doesn’t matter if the abuser was a public caretaker or figure, or if the incident happened privately, you need legal protection and a legal consultation right away. Children are the most vulnerable to be abused between the ages of 7-13 years, but sexual abuse can happen to any child at any age and is a problem that can get overlooked. As children, 1 in 5 girls will experience sexual abuse, and 1 in 20 boys will be victims. If your child is showing the signs of a sexual abuse victim or has made comments that concern you, it’s time to get help. Here are indicators to look for: • Difficulty or pain with urination or bowel movements • Struggles with sleeping, nightmares and night sweats • Fear, anxiety, depression, aggression, constant crying and shyness towards others • Withdrawal from friends, family and activities • Blood stains or bodily fluid markings in underwear • Changes in appetite • Experimenting with alcohol or drugs If you aren’t sure how far the abuse went, if it was mental, physical, or both, and how many times it occurred, you want to start compiling the case as quickly as possible. You will have to report the abuse to a local medical facility, and you’ll want to have the child physically examined. Not only should a physical examination take place, but the child should talk with a mental health professional as well. Here are a few of the common types of sexual molestation that take place in children. Non-Consenual If your child was touched, penetrated, and molested sexually in any way against their consent, these would be forms of non-consensual activities where your child was harmed physically. If the ch... ... middle of paper ... ...or is going to ask a variety of questions to get information about the incidents that took place, or to see if the child is hiding information. It can sometimes be difficult for a child to open up to their parent because they feel ashamed, or because they are afraid to give the name of the abuser, which is why a mental health examination can help. Your child may need sleeping aids or other mental health treatments to get over the ordeal. There is going to be a long road to recovery when it comes to helping your child resume a normal life, and you shouldn’t have to deal with the financial burdens of the ordeal on top of the trauma. Your lawyer will work to file a suit against the perpetrator, and against all others that are involved. Your child deserves justice for what was done to them, and your community deserves to know they have a sexual predator walking around.
It is the CPS duty to protect the child from harm and the caregiver’s duty to report harm (Martin, 2010). While it seems that Martin (2010) feels that substandard care in a child’s home is connected to community and poverty. I feel that they place a part in sexual abuse, but is not the whole picture. There are some underlying mental issues that causes a grown person to want to hurt a child. I will also say that maybe some abuse in the abuser’s life created this problem. I think that whatever the underlying cause is the vulnerability of children helps create this type of abuse. The quiet, fearful child, in my opinion can be easily manipulated of
The forensic interview process happens when children have been abused or witnessed a violent act. “Every year more than 3 million reports of child abuse are made in the United States involving more than 6 million children (a report can include multiple children) (National Child Abuse Statistics).” In the United States there are about four to seven children that die every day due to child abuse and neglect (National Child Abuse Statistics). There are many different processes to conduct the interview and a number of steps are followed so children can tell their story accurately. People conducting the interview are supposed to make the child feel comfortable in their environment so they can find out what events happened.
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 prevent them from turning into something bigger.
...use victims tend to be under the age of 8 in today's era. The possibility of a girl being at risk of sexually abusement falls in the category of 1 in every 4 girls while a boy tends to be 1 in every 6. Children in real danger are getting lost in the press of inappropriate cases (Grapes).
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 ...
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).
These numbers demand the public’s attention. The pain of just one child should be more than enough to cause a person to jump up and help, much less the pain of more than six thousand children. The U.S. Department of Justice calls children the “perfect victim” for six major reasons. Firstly, since children are typically not emotionally or physically mature, they will try to avoid talking about the abuse. The second reason that they provide is that often times the child does not want to betray the person who is abusing them due to the fact that, many times, the abuser is someone close to them or even related to them. Thirdly, many times there is not enough medical evidence or reliable eye witness accounts for the police to persecute a sexual predator. Unfortunately, the child’s testimony is easy for most any defense attorney to strike down. Two more reas...
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.
Zieve, David, Juhn, Greg, and Eltz, David R. "Child Abuse-Sexual." New York Times. N.p., 13 Oct. 2008. Web. 12 Jan. 2014.
Step one would be to learn the facts and understand the risks. Realities, not trust, should influence your child regarding your child. Step two, minimize opportunity. Most sexual abusers are not strangers, but our friends and family. The third step would be to talk about it, because children often keep abuse a secret, but they might knock their barriers down by talking openly about it. Another step would be, stay alert at all times. You shouldn't expect obvious signs that a child or your child is being abused, the signs are there you just often have to look for them. Step five would be to make a plan as in learning where to go, how to react and who to call. Don’t overreact, if you overreact or get angry or don’t believe the child, they most likely will shut down. Step six would act on suspicion, a child’s satisfaction may depend on it. Lastly step seven, get involved with it
Younger children are the most likeliest to get abused and most easiest to abuse because they cannot really do anything about the situation that they are being brought into. 25% of abused children are under the age of three, while over 45% of abused children are under the age of 5. 1,593 of the children died in 2012 of abuse or neglect. 70% are three years or younger. 44% were younger than one year old. 2.9 million reports of child abuse are reported every year. 25% are more likely to experience teen pregnancy. 80% have met at least one psychiatric disorder by the age of 21, which is, a mental disorder that causes either suffering or an impaired ability to function an ordinary life. This also includes having depression, anxiety, eating disorders and suicide attempts. Department of Health and Human Services found 45% had escaped a home where they have suffered physical abuse. 28.3% of adults report being physically abused as a child.
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.
Over 700,000 children suffer from child abuse yearly. It is proven that parent’s that abuse their children may “have been victims of abuse themselves, and don’t know any other way to parent. Others may be struggling with mental health issues or a substance abuse problem.” (Smith, M., & Segal, J, 2016) Sometimes when children are noticed that they are being abused it is because their bruises are visible and either teachers or people of interest in the children noticed they are being abuse.
A sure fire way to help would report the issue to local law enforcement. If not that then talk to a school principal about the situation and they will talk to child services to help in any way possible. When in the worst case scenario call these organizations for help such as: National Child Abuse Hotline (1-800-4-A-CHILD), Child Abuse, National Hotline (1-800-25ABUSE), and National Youth Crisis Hotline/National Youth Development (1-800-HIT-HOME). If anything, just as helpful as reporting the situation seeking counseling is just as effective. Seeing as many hidden scars can be uncovered and smoothed over to allow the parent to get over the past so that future mistakes can be dismissed. Counseling also helps the child to help lessen or correct damage done to a child at early age so that they may lead a normal life all the way into adulthood. Therapy also a great alternative to counseling, seeing as some damage that is done is too severe and irreversible. Therapy can offer a child medication to help deal with a damaging side effect of abuse so it doesn’t hinder them from living a normal life. Therapy can also help alleviate the pain brought on by the past through medication and
Child abuse is a very serious problem that continues to happen all over the world. The Federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, defines child abuse as a failure to act as a parent or caregiver which results in physical/emotional harm, sexual abuse, and in some cases death. There are many different types of child abuse such as emotional, physical, neglect, and sexual. With each type of abuse there are warning signs you can spot before it is too late. When a child is abused there is a huge possibility that it can cause them to have many long term effects.