Child Sexual Abuse Cases

I was raised by a single mother in Massachusetts in the 1980s. In 1983, when I was five years old, I was “kidnapped” by the teenage nephew of our neighbors and held in their root cellar for roughly 12 hours. I write “kidnapped” because even though what happened to me was not technically a kidnapping – I wasn’t held for ransom or for more than twenty-four hours, it was the only word that I had at my disposal to describe my experience. Because I was five and no one had explained to me what sexual assault, molestation or rape was. In America it is estimated that nearly 1 in 5 women has experienced or will experience a rape in her lifetime (Black, et al. 2011). I am just one of the estimated 42 million survivors of childhood sexual abuse

Today, Americans fail to realize the prevalence and severity of child sexual abuse within the United States. Though crimes of adult rape are of equal importance, the sexual victimization of children, ages seventeen and under, accounted for nearly 70% of all reported sexual assault cases in 2015. To further the issue, arrests were made in only 29% of these child sexual abuse cases; this means that for every ten sexual abuse cases involving children, only three of the perpetrators are convicted and jailed. Why are these supposed perpetrators jailed less frequently than the number of reported child sexual abuse cases? The United States Criminal Justice System fails to provide the deserved protection and justice for the victims of child sexual abuse by not giving proper sentences to perpetrators equal to the damage they have inflicted upon the victim and the continued implementation of the statute of limitations in cases of child sexual abuse.

Today, Americans fail to realize the prevalence and severity of child sexual abuse within the United States. Though crimes of adult rape are of equal importance, the sexual victimization of children, ages seventeen and under, accounted for nearly 70% of all reported sexual assault cases in 2015. To further the issue, arrests were made in only 29% of this child sexual abuse cases; this means that for every ten sexual abuse cases involving children, only three of the perpetrators are convicted and jailed. Why are these supposed perpetrators jailed less frequently than the number of reported child sexual abuse cases? The United States Criminal Justice System fails to provide the deserved protection and justice for the victims of child sexual abuse by not giving proper sentences to perpetrators equal to the damage they have inflicted upon the victim and the continued implementation of the statute of limitations in cases of child sexual abuse.

Jackie has had many negative things happen in her life and these things affected her life. Her family life was very challenging her family is not close at all. She comes from a family of five none of them are close her sister Vanessa have no relationship. This failed relationship leaves her in a state of loneness, because a person first social contacts are their family.

The client is a 3 years and 8 months old, African American, female currently residing with her biological father and paternal grandmother. Client was referred to the SART program by Child Family Services (CFS), after being removed from biological mothers care after she and her boyfriend were caught stealing. In addition, client’s younger half-brother, whom is one year old, was with biological mom and her boyfriend while they committed the crime. Authorities also noticed client’s younger brother appeared to have been neglected, as he was dirty and had been wearing a dirty diaper for a long period. Client was visiting biological father when mom was arrested. Authorities then went to biological father’s home to verify client was in his care

Childhood sexual abuse is a traumatic experience, and changing the child forever. according to statistics 7 % to 36 % of women and 3% to 29% of men report childhood sexual abuse (CSA) (Springer, Sheridan, Kuo, Carnes, 2003). The amount abused is staggering beyond the immediate effects of CSA there are numerous long-term health issues that stem form CSA, yet there is hope for recovery from CSA for victims.

Child abuse cases there are rarely any corroborating evidence or witnesses other than the child, which means an entire case may rely on the recollection of an alleged abuse from a child. As Faller (1985) states, the potential for traumatizing the victim is enormous and false allegations of abuse can be devastating not only to the family but to the accused (Faller, 1985). Within the past few decades, we have gained a significant amount of knowledge about a child’s development, memory and understanding which has helped to strengthen the law enforcement’s ability to produce accurate information from children through interviewing techniques. These techniques not only assist in protecting child victims, but also the rights of any innocent suspects.

The presenting problem of childhood sexual abuse is a multidimensional trauma. Occurring at such a young age, CSA can have physically, sexually, psychologically, and emotionally detrimental outcomes (Calvert, Kellett, & Hagan, 2015). Depression, maladaptive social behaviors, PTSD, and self-blame have all been reported as psychological reactions to CSA (Gold, 1986; Alexander et al., 1989; Willows, 2009). The very definition of childhood sexual abuse is constantly up for debate, but the Center of Disease Control (CDC) describes CSA as “any completed or attempted (noncompleted) sexual act, sexual contact with, or exploitation (i.e., noncontact sexual interaction) of a child

Emotionally, discussing rape, sex trafficking, and sexual abuse of children is hard for me because as a woman I am in danger of facing these issues personally and it seems so common and so destructive to the victims. The statistic that one in four females and one in six males will experience complex trauma due to sexual trauma was mind blowing to me (Buehler, 2014). While pornography or the lack of morality can be blamed, with the statistics being that high it is obvious that it is a societal problem that need a societal solution. Social workers can go in and remove children from situations, but a real movement needs to be made to understand why this abuse it occurring and stop it before it ever happens. As a female, the prevalence of rape

Although child sexual abuse is reported almost 90,000 times a year, the numbers of unreported abuse is far greater because the children are afraid to tell anyone what has happened, and the legal procedure for validating an episode is difficult (Psychiatry, Child Sexual Abuse, 2004). It has been estimated that one in four girls and one in six boys will have experienced an episode of sexual abuse while younger than eighteen years of age. The number of boys estimated may be falsely low because of reporting techniques (Botash, May 1997). Sixty-seven percent of all victims of sexual abuse reported to law enforcement agencies were juveniles (under the age of eighteen); thirty-four percent of all victims were under the age of twelve. One of every seven victims of sexual assault reported to law enforcement agencies were under the age of six. Forty percent of the offenders who victimized children under the age of six were juveniles (under the age of eighteen) (Buearu of Justice Statistis, 2000). Most children are abused by someone they know or trust, although boys are more likely than girls to be abused outside of the family. A study in three states found ninety-six percent of reported

An 8-year-old girl is admitted to the emergency department, immaculately dressed, with many bruises and welts on her arms and legs. Her mother states she was hurt on the playground.

Child sexual abuse has been reported up to 80,000 times a year, but the number of unreported instances is far greater, because the children are afraid to tell anyone what has happened (American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry). Childhood sexual abuse is a traumatic experience affecting the lives of not only the victim, but those close to the victim as well. Many think there is only one person truly traumatized, but in fact, everyone involved is affected. The victim has to deal with their experience the rest of their lives. They may be more at risk for other mental issues as well, including depression. The family involved has to deal with its pain, often causing hardship and discord within the family. This is especially true

Imagine being robbed of your innocence in a matter of seconds. Imagine not being able to speak out due to threats and fear of seeking help and not being taken seriously. Troubling, is it not? Sexual abuse has always been a problem in society that can affect anyone. Sexual abuse brings along many negative outcomes; however, throughout the years, sexual abuse has been a factor that has always been ignored. Even though sexual abuse has had many attempts to be avoided in various environments, all have failed.

Sexual abuse to children happens across every socioeconomic status, ethnic, cultural, religion and education. Getting treatment for a victim of child sexual abuse is a difficult process because of the lack of trust by the child. When child sexual abuse occurs the victim’s family has a difficult time talking about the abuse, which leads to the family pretending the abuse never happened. Once the family

In today’s society child abuse is a serious issue. There are three different types of abuse: physical, mental and sexual. Child sexual abuse is classified as an individual abused under the age of 18. In 2007, in the United States it was estimated that 60,344 children of 794,000 victims of mal-treatment were sexually abused. Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) tends to be the most damaging out of all the different types of abuse. Child sexual abuse tends to be the most detrimental because the perpetrator could be someone the child knows. Not all cases of child sexual abuse are reported. According to Ahkers, Bahls, Mundt, & Schaefer, (2012) child abuse is defined as “showing pornography to a child, engaging in sexual talks with a child, undressing or masturbating in the presence of a child, as well as more intrusive physical acts, such as fondling, oral sex, or penetration. Overall this literature focused on female victims and survivors of child sexual abuse. Young girls tend to have a higher risk of becoming a victim of child sexual abuse. Child abuse has a negative influence on interpersonal functioning. If not treated the child could suffer with long term affects as an adult such as depression, anxiety, or shame and guilt. Being a victim of child abuse can cause severe damage, not only is the victim’s childhood is ruined but the child could suffer with self-acceptance, a mental disorder, or some type of physical injury. There are other factors and risk of being a