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...
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...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.
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).
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 ...
Molestation is a painful and devastating violation, one that can affect the physical, emotional, relational, and spiritual future of a child. Children and adults however, are extremely resilient, and with the proper support and professional care, can heal and go on to lead healthy, happy, successful lives, no matter what age they come forward. It is never too late! Quality professional treatment can help a victim of child abuse process the experience in a healthy manner and thus minimize or eliminate long-term damage. Types of support include: - Crisis hotline – is a hotline you can call anonymously to get counseling and support by a quality trained volunteer.
Punishment, physical abuse, death threats to the child, their siblings, or other family members are also used. The main factor of sexual abuse in children is force, as children are not capable of conseting to these acts with adults; even though, they are in this act. Sexual abuse can occur by contact or non-contact, with actions that give sexual pleasure to an abuser. Forms of sexual abuse include but not limited to: touching or fondling of the genitals, oral actions that include the genitals, voyeurism, prostitution, or child pornography.
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.
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
Of the children who were sexually abused 90% were abused by someone they knew. Over 3,000 children were known to need protection from sexual abuse last year. Over 10,000 children reached out to a child helpline about sexual abuse. Sexual abuse was the primary reason cited in 10% of all children maltreatment investigations. Lastly two million people worldwide are affected by child exploitation (NSPCC).
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.
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.