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Effects of childhood sexual abuse women
Psychological impacts of sexual abuse in children
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The sexually abused child: a critical analysis exploring sexual abuse and its effects. This essay will aim to explore and evaluate sexual abuse and its possible detrimental impacts on a child. Although there is no evidence by any one persons or any data to describe what may account for abuse and what sexual abuse is, there are four main types of child abuse; emotional abuse, sexual abuse , physical abuse and neglect. (NSPCC 2010). The type of abuse that will be closely analysed in this essay is sexual abuse. According to the Oxford Dictionary, the term sexual abuse is defined as “unwanted continuous sexual activity forced upon a person by another through coercion or threats.” A similar explanation is presented by Kempe. “Sexual abuse is defined as the involvement of dependant, developmentally immature children and adolescents in sexual activities they do not truly comprehend, to which they are unable to give informed consent, or that violate the social taboos of family roles.” While these explanations form a foundation of what sexual abuse is with terms such as “dependant” and “informed consent” and “developmentally immature” it suggests that the true nature of sexual abuse however it not yet fully determined. This may be due to the content of sexual abuse coming in many forms. (Kempe, 1978:90) With abuse coming in many forms, sexual abuse also has different forms as suggested by Hansel et al (1998). Child sexual abuse may array from ‘contact’ and ‘non-contact’ offenses. Non-contact offenses include; exhibitionism, a term used to describe genital exposure, voyeurism, this is a form of gaining sexual satisfaction by observing victims in a sexual way i.e. a child undressing, verbal sexual abuse this is where the child is spoken to ... ... middle of paper ... ...ctive and better understanding will be accomplished. Government policies such as the Tackling Child Sexual Exploitation Action Plan 2011 responded to the maltreatment of children and young people who were violated. In this report, the needs and preventions strategies were established to eliminate child sexual abuse. Reports were prepared for practitioners to help them tackle if a child has been sexually exploited. Furthermore this plan implemented a stronger law on sex offenders claiming that “extra charges will be held against them”. In addition, victims of child sexual abuse “will get the help they need and be supported at all times” (Department of Health 2013) stated that identifying and managing sex abuse immediately was essential to maintain safety. As argued by Talcott parsons “society must ensure an equal balance to ‘function’ correctly and benefit everybody.
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.
According to RAINN, (2009) approximately 10 per cent of all victims of sexual assault and abuse are adult and juvenile males. In terms of the nature of assault, real figures include a compendium of reported incidents ranging from unwanted sexual touching to forced penetration. To qualify this statement, it must be understood that the percentage does not reflect a vast number of crimes that go unreported due to issues that will be discussed in the present paper.
Sexual abuse includes any sexual act in which one person has not agreed to it. A woman can be sexually abused by means of, but not limited to force, coercion, blackmail, threat, or embarrassment. Sexual abuse may occur when a woman is forced to perform, watch, or in any other way engage in sexual acts. This includes but is not limited to vaginal, anal and oral sex, fondling, touching, disrespect of privacy, such as showering, being forced to watch pornography or view pornographic pictures, being forced into sexual poses, or being verbally abused in a sexual manner (Morris and Biehl 36, Haley 14).
According to the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System, an estimated 777,200 children were determined to be victims of abuse or neglect by a protective service agency in the United States in 2008, and 9.1% of these children were determined to have been sexually abused (Draucker, 2011). Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is a prevalent problem in the United States that is associated with many long term psychological, behavioral, social and physical effects on men and women (Draucker, 2011). These effects can make a person’s life a living hell. They turn someone into a person that they may not have been if the tragic event didn’t happen to them.
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, while having many different forms and levels of severity, can be basically defined as the maltreatment of a child by a parent or other adult. When one thinks of child abuse, usually the first thing that comes to mind is physical harm, but the issue is actually much more complex. The abuse of a child can also be manifested in verbal and emotional forms, as well as in sexual molestation. All forms of child abuse generally result in similar emotional disorders and behavioral issues, but the major consequences of sexual abuse, such as mental or emotional scarring, promiscuity, and the tendency of former victims to become sexual abusers, cause it to be the most severely damaging form of child abuse.
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).
In the Working Together to Safeguard Children 2010, provided by the Government, there are four types of child abuse. Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual abuse and Neglect.
Child Abuse is an extremely significant conflict around the world; it is the physical maltreatment or sexual molestation of a child. There are 4 main types of victimization against children. Those containing physical, emotional, sexual abuse and neglect. Physical abuse is when a parent or guardian wounds their child in the form of injuring them or in any other manner causing them agony. Emotional abuse also recognized as mental abuse is when they mentally upset a child’s feelings that may generate trauma. Sexual abuse can probably be characterized as someone forcing a child in an act of unwanted sexual relationships. Neglect is the form of not providing a child with their basic physical and emotional necessities. Most people are forming organizations to prevent from future child abuse occurring but most people are also not getting involved in such dangerous crimes. Usually more than 90% of abusers tend to be people children know, love, or trust, according to Bright Futures 4 Kids.
Sexual assault is a worldwide epidemic that has long lasting and devastating effects on the victims. The terms sexual abuse and sexual assault are often used interchangeably. Most often the term “sexual abuse” is used when the victim is under the age of 18 and “sexual assault” is used when the victim is over the age of 18. For the purposes of this paper, “sexual assault” will be most often used as this provides a better description of the impact it has on the victims. Women are more often the victim than men; however, all races, cultures, and societies are affected by sexual assault and child sexual abuse (Davies and Jones, 2013). It is nearly impossible to determine exactly how many women have been victimized. There are two primary reasons that make such estimates difficult. First, there are so many different definitions and terms used to describe sexual abuse and assault and definitions vary from state to state (Holcomb and Holcomb, 2011). According to Holcomb and Holcomb (2011, p 27), sexual assault is used as an overarching term, encompassing a large number of sexual behaviors – physical, verbal, and psychological – that violate the health and well-being of an individual. Holcomb and Holcomb (2011) provides their own definition of sexual assault as “any type of sexual behavior or contact where consent is not freely given or obtained and is accomplished through force, intimidation, violence, coercion, manipulation, threat, deception, or abuse of authority” (p. 28). In contrast to Holcomb and Holcomb’s broad definition of sexual assault, many researchers advocate for a more narrow interpretation to prevent over reporting, thus inflating statistics (Holcomb and Holcomb, 2011). The Lancashire Sexu...
Sexuality is defined in many ways, for the sake of this papers clarity sexuality will be defined as, sexual feelings and interactions that are defining features of romantic intimacy. (Fering 2009) Child sexual abuse (CSA) is defined in the International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences as "any [sexual] action that is inflicted upon or must be tolerated by a child against their own will or any [sexual] action about which the child cannot make a decision due to their physical, emotional, mental, and verbal inferiority." Statistics for the prevalence of CSA range from anywhere from 15 to 25 percent of women to 5 to 10 percent of men according to Deegener. (2002)
The mistreatment of children is classified by four types of actions: physical abuse, sexual abuse, psychological abuse, and neglect. Although, in recent years several steps have been taken to prevent the maltreatment of children it seems that child abuse is still prevalent in today's society. Countless children around the world suffer from some form of abuse and in many cases the same child experiences more than one. There is no exact number of victims because it difficult to measure the exact amount of children going through abuse. Child abuse almost always occurs in private, and because abuse is often hidden from view and its victims may be too young or too frightened to speak out, experts in child welfare suggest that its true prevalence
Childhood sexual abuse, as defined by the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA, 1996), includes using persuasion, enticement, and other inducements to coerce a child to engage in sexually explicit conduct or simulation of sexual acts. Survivors of sexual abuse frequently have a legacy of both psychological and physical problem throughout life. There has been considerable literature published in the past 20 years focusing on the long-term consequences of childhood sexual abuse.
Sexual abuse is “The use of psychological abuse tactics to keep an intimate partner in a submissive position of power. Strategies include sexual degradation, non-contact unwanted sexual experience (e.g., being forced to watch pornography), and reproductive and sexual control,” (Bagwell-Gray, Messing, & Baldwin-White, 2015, p. 323). It is low in force, because non-physical control tactics are used, and it is low in invasiveness because no sexual penetration is involved. Sexual abuse is different than sexual coercion in that the perpetrator is not coercing sex but is rather controlling sex-related decision making. Some examples of sexually controlling acts are refusing to wear condoms, having sex outside the primary relationship, and birth control sabotage (Campbell & Soeken,
To understand how to prevent child sexual abuse, one must begin by understanding what child sex abuse is. When a perpetrator intentionally harms a child physically, psychologically, sexually, or by acts of neglect, this crime is known as child abuse. Child sex abuse consists of any sexual activity that includes a minor. A child cannot consent to any form of sexual activity. More importantly, when a perpetrator engages with a child this way, they are committing a crime that can have lasting effects on the victim for years. Moreover, child sexual abuse does not need to include physical contact between a perpetrator and child, some forms include but not limited to; fondling, intercourse, sex trafficking, exposing oneself to a minor, masturbation