Child Sexual Assault
Who does it affect? Who offends?
The child and their surrounding family and friends are the most affected.Offenders are usually connected to the child in some way. Most of the time, they know the child, and sometimes they are related to the child. It is rare for a stranger to be the offender.
What is it?
This is a form of child abuse where an adult or adolescent uses a child for their sexual desires. According to the National Center for PTSD, "child sexual abuse often involves body contact. This could include sexual kissing, touching, and oral, anal, or vaginal sex. Not all sexual abuse involves body contact, though. Showing private parts ("flashing"), forcing children to watch pornography, verbal pressure for sex, and exploiting children as prostitutes or for pornography can be sexual abuse as well."When does it occur?
Anytime. Wherever the offender finds the opportunity, it can happen.Where can it happen?
Anywhere. Although, different offenders offend in different places. Adolescents tend to offend in private areas when they have the opportunity, whereas adults seem to offend more often in public areas when the opportunity presents itself.Why does it happen?
Various reasons. Some offenders have a certain attraction to children and have no interest in people their own age. Some are sexually deviant, committing sexual offenses to the weak and easy targets, children being one of them. In many cases, the offender has some kind of mental misconnect.Unfortunately, children fall under the easily-targeted category, making them a more likely target for sexual offenses.
How are children affected?
Children may face PTSD, depression, self-esteem issues, relationship problems, drug and alcohol problems, and suicide. They are often unaware of their problems being directly related to their sexual abuse experiences. The drug and alcohol related problems are the most common coping method that these people use to hide their past memories about the abuse. The aftermath of child sexual abuse and how to help these survivors is what I will be focusing on.
In my studies, I look at child abuse as it relates to labor exploitation in Asia. Children are at most risk of sexual abuse. The stigma associated with it as they grow becomes a hindrance in the ability for them to get better. There is no doubt these children have PTSD. Some may take years to get past those stigmas associated with sexual abuse. Talking and being upfront about the issue is key. Kids needs to know that there are avenues for them to get help.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your blog. I like how you organized it into the 5 W's. It made it easy to read and understand the information when it is divided up into topic like that. I have read a little on children that were sexual abuse and the affect that it has one them in my psychology class two years ago. This is a topic that I find very interesting and loved reading and learning more about it from your post.
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