Child Sexual Abuse Change

Sexual abuse can be hard to define because of the many different forms it can take on, the different levels of frequency, the variation of circumstances that can occur. Until a child is fit to function as a self-supporting and informed adult, we have an obligation not to take advantage of their lack of power or protection to inflict damage, or demand submission to acts that are not in their own best interests within. Children are being abused every day in different countries. While commonly accepted wisdom had been that childhood sexual abuse results in long lasting negative outcomes.

As time progresses on, more reports of child sexual abuse (CSA) have been documented. According to Colangelo and Cooperman, CSA is defined as “the use of a child under 18 years of age as an object of gratification for adult sexual needs and desires.” Another definition of CSA is “sexual abuse [that] occurs whenever one person dominates and exploits another by means of sexual activity or suggestion.” (Hall, M., & Hall, J., 2011) it is difficult to

One of the most perverse traumas experienced by children is sexual abuse. Sexual abuse is an unfortunate reality for many children all over the world. Most

The sexual child abuse issue has become of significance within the United States as an alarming focus in the past 30 years. Sexual child abuse (SCA) is such an extensive topic and yet as time progresses this subject is more unrestricted for discussion, various dialogs are provided to make parents and care-takers aware of the signs of potential sexual child abuse. Seminars are provided to and for children to teach methods in identifying any possible perpetrators and report any peculiar behavior they may come across. However, how fortunate are children from other countries in reporting or discussing this same issue when something so violated occurs to them? According to Alpert, J.L., Brown, L.S., & Courtois, C.A., (1998), there have been findings that are constant in supporting that at least 20% of American women and 5% to 10% of American men have experienced some type of sexual abuse in childhood and that such abuse has transpired without regard to origin, race, or socioeconomic status. In an urban study however, which concentrated in Leon, Nicaragua, determined that sexual abuse defined childhood and adolescence as younger than age 19 Olsson, A., Ellsber, E., Berglund, S., Herrera, A., Zelaya, E., Pena, R., Zelaya, F., & Persson, L.A. (2000). Additionally, according to the Nicaraguan study sexual abuse was described as any sexual act by an older individual towards a child who is 12 years of age or younger.

Over the years, sexual abuse has been defined and regulated across the United States. Laws and protections have been enforced to protect children from sexual perpetrators. These laws are extremely strict in the United States, but this may not be the case around the world. Although persecution of perpetrators remains a common solution, there are other interventions used to rehabilitate and prevent future acts of sexual abuse.

Child sexual abuse is serious and treacherous offence. The World Health Organization defines child sexual abuse as any sexual activity which the child does not comprehend and consequently, is unable to give informed consent. The Canadian Family Violence Laws definition of child sexual abuse is any activity in which a child is used for sexual purposes. The child maltreatment section under Health Canada states that child sexual abuse activities include fondling, intercourse, incest, sodomy, exhibitionism, and commercial exploitation through prostitution. It is no doubt that child sexual abuse is considered a crime throughout the world. However, slight emphasis is given to the causes of this crime. The goal of this essay is to provide an intricate

According to the National Sex Offender Public Website, “Approximately 1.8 million adolescents in the United States have been the victims of sexual assault.” Most people are unaware of the magnitude of sexual assault in children; however, it is far more common than one might think. As stated by Darkness to Light, “About one in 10 children will be sexually abused before their 18th birthday.”

The issue of child sexual assault has been present since the beginning of history. There is however, surprisingly little research that has been done on it prior to the 1960s and 1970s. As the Director of Children’s Services at the American Humane Association Vincent De Francis stated in 1969, “social work ‘literature seems devoid of reference to or content on this subject [the sexual assault of children],’” (Myers, 2008). In 1975, David Walters, an American politician, stated, “‘Virtually no literature exists on the sexual abuse of children,’” (Myers, 2008). The idea that very little was found on the topic is rather disturbing. Most of the information that is available now was gathered after the mid-1980s when interest in the subject arose (Fenkel, Ormrod, and Chaffin, 2009).

Sexual abuse has a way to mentally and physically damage a human being; just the thought of that recurring nightmare is enough to damage a child’s spirit. It is honestly hard or unknown to understand where or how sexual abuse actually comes from. People would think that when people are victims of sexual abuse, it would often be a stranger who is stalking them and hurting them. Instead, it is people whom the victims knew or are familiar with who are the ones that are hurting them. For children, they become adults, it would be hard for them to trust anyone ever again. However, when seeing abuse from a

Sexual child abuse has no real definition. It can be characterized as “any adult that allows themselves to force or coerce a child into a sexual activity” (Understanding . . . 1). This may include fondling a child’s genitals, masturbation, oral-genital contact, digital penetration, and vaginal or anal intercourse. Effects of sexual child abuse on the victim may include anxiety, guilt, fear, sexual dysfunction, withdrawal, and acting out. More long term effects may include anxiety went associating with the opposite sex or inappropriate sexual knowledge, sexual interest, or sexual acting out by the young victim. Research has led researchers to believe that child sexual abuse victims are more likely to be victims of rape or physically abusive relationships as adults. Studies also show that the majority of perpetrators are family members or are known by the child. Although it is thought that homosexual men are more commonly the perpetrators, heterosexual men are actually more likely to be the perpetrator (Understanding . . . 4).

research indicates that with a broad definition of sexual abuse like “any sexual involvement,” prevalence rates are as high as 50%; a narrow definition of sexual abuse like, “ forced genital activity,” yields prevalence rates of about 5% (Haugaard , 2000). Although children of both

It is always so saddening to hear about sexual abuse especially when it involves a child, but many times there are more damaging psychological and emotional effects when a child is sexually abused. These effects can be short or long term and might not appear until later in life when the child has grown and understands what has happened. Events like these can alter a child’s perspective on life because sexuality is a big part of healthy development, but when it is important that sexuality occurs at the correct time of development and not in the form of sexual abuse.

I want to solve this issue by advising kids on this topic. I would like to share my story with them as well as their parents that way they are orientated on this issue. The goal is for parents to talk to their kids about sexual abuse, what it is,what they should do if it is happening. In addition to this, I would like to form my own campaign with experts on this matter and go to many different schools and lecture kids on this matter. I want to prevent child abuse from happening and help kids who have not reached for help yet. I want to be their help, no child should go through this; sexual abuse needs to

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

The difficultly with the abuse is that victims don’t feel the need to come forward. Broadly speaking there are two concerns. First, there is the issue of whether or not some reports of sexual abuse are fantasies or fabrications. A second issue is whether the memories or events are valid in the length of time that it takes a child or parent to come forward. So they would like for the persons to