Childhood Sexual Abuse

Introduction

Did you know that one in four girls and one in six boys are sexually abused before the age of 18 (“Child Sexual Abuse,” 2014)? Childhood sexual abuse is an underreported crime which leads people to believe that it is not a large problem within our country. Sex abuse can be both a traumatic and confusing experience for the children who are victimized; no matter who commits the crime. Childhood sexual abuse perpetrators can be anyone including; mothers, fathers, other relatives, babysitters, priests, educators, neighbors, or complete strangers. Although there are many controversies about child sexual abuse within a family, this paper will be looking at child sexual abuse committed by someone of no relation to the victim; and more

If sexual abuse continues over a period of time, the offender of the child sexual abuse is usually a family member or someone who has easy access to the child. People usually think that children are sexually abused by strangers and that is one reason why they teach their children “stranger danger;” but it is actually very rare to have a child sexually abused by someone they do not know at all. In fact, 8 out of 10 children who have been sexually abused knew their perpetrator on a personal level before the sexual abuse occurred (“Lucy Faithfull Foundation,” n.d.). Some of the perpetrators that sexually abuse children are related to the child on some level; but the majority of child sexual abuse cases are by someone the child knows personally but are not related to (Douglas & Finkelhor, 2005). Many cases of child sexual abuse are committed by a step-father, step-sibling, or a boyfriend or girlfriend of the relatives; but for the purposes of this paper they are going to be considered related to the victim. Non-relative perpetrators are most commonly considered to be neighbors, babysitters, nannies, family friends, educators, priests, anyone else the child knows, or strangers. Non-relative child sexual abuse offenders could be any person from any race, age, gender, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, or religion. Even though child sexual abuse perpetrators can be

This is a complicated question many victims or parents of victims ask every day; but there is no simple or quick answer to this question. Although there is no exact answer, there are some aspects in a person’s life that may cause them to sexually abuse a child. As mentioned earlier, there has been a common occurrence with offenders who sexually abuse children and that offender’s own personal history of being sexually abused as a child. Some perpetrators, who had a traumatic experience being sexually abused as a child, can be known to have sexual preferences; which then they may be known as a pedophile. Pedophiles are known to have multiple victims but prefer children of a particular age and sex (Child Sexual Abuse, n.d.). Other factors that may influence an individual to sexually abuse a child would be the power or influence they have over a child, the availability they have to the child, finding sexual interests in a child, or wanting to act out their sexual impulses or fantasies on the child (Hopper,