Child on child sexual violence/assault cases has been on the rise. Sexual Violence is defined by Webster’s dictionary as any illegal sexual contact that usually involves force upon a person without consent or is inflicted upon a person who is incapable of giving consent (as because of age or physical or mental incapacity) or who places the assailant (as a doctor) in a position of trust or authority. There is growing understanding that the vast majority of children who has experienced sexual assault, are typically assaulted by someone they know, and often times trust (family member, friends of family, their own friends etc.) (Chaffin, 2008). Research indicates that over one third of children sexually assaulted is committed by someone under the age of 18 (Browne & Finkelhor, 1986; Paolucci et al., 2001). Sexually victimized youth experiences greater risk for a multitude of antisocial behaviors and sexualized behaviors compared to those who have not experienced sexual victimizations (Browne & Finkelhor, 1986; Paolucci et al., 2001).
In the United States today studies show that “1 in 4 women and 1 in 6 men are sexually abused before the age of 18” (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2006). Therefore that would mean 42 million adults are survivors of child abuse right here in the United States. Among these children there are 73% of children who do not tell anyone for a year, and many who never tell anyone (The Children’s Assessment Center). If we do not intervene many would say 500,000 babies will be born and sexually abused by the age of 18. It is important is it to be educated in the signs and symptoms of adult and child sexual abuse and getting involved in our own communities to stop this vicious cycle. You may or may not be a social worker or therapist but everyone can help an adult or child just by caring enough to stop and recognize the clues (The Children’s Assessment Center).
Sexual abuse of children damages them for them entire lifetimes and robs them of the full, comfortable relationships they should have as adults. However, given these differences, sexual abuses evokes similar responses in everyone because it is as aggressive and conceive abuses of power that is expensive as humiliating, degrading and destruction. One of the major achievements of the past quarter century has been the growing awareness of the prevalence and changing psychological consequences of the sexual abuse of children. The majority of perpetrators are someone the child or family knows. As many as 93% of victims under the age of 18 know the abuser. A perpetrator does not have to be an adult to harm a child. They can have any relationship to the child including an older sibling or playmate, family member, a teacher, a coach or instructor, a caretaker, or the parent of another child. According to 1 in 6, sexual abuse is the result of abusive behavior that takes advantage of a child’s vulnerability and is in no way related to the sexual orientation of the abusive person.”
All children have certainly many experiences before they became truly mature. A child can face lot of dangerous things from the environment surrounding them which might seriously affect their whole life. As definition in the Federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act: Child abuse is any action from adult to a child that it could be harmful to the child’s body or mental (Children Welfare Information Gateway 2007). In 2005, among 3.6 million investigations by Child Protective Services agencies in the U.S, an estimated 899,000 children (24.97%) were confirmed to be victims of child abuse (Children’s Bureau 2005). In generally, there are 4 typical kinds of child abuse: neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse and emotional maltreatment.
In history, there are many cases that get reported of young children and older adults, men and women being sexually abused. Only 13% of the cases get reported. Those people who are sexually abused suffer through so much pain. They are effected emotionally and physically. So much of their life changes and is affected. Many victims are afraid to confront about this abuse because they are ashamed. Sexual abuse can also be referred to as molestation. It is undesired sexual behavior with a person of any age, gender, and race upon another person. The person, victim, is usually forced into sexual activity. The topic of sexual abuse has numerous causes which impact the victim, his or hers family and the society in which he or she lives in; however,
There are many forms of child abuse. Not only can children be physically abused, but they are also in danger of experiencing sexual abuse. In the more recent years, child sexual abuse has come to the attention of a larger part of society. As such, it is becoming more openly discussed. Child sexual abuse is a growing problem, and the stories that have begun to circulate around the world work to illustrate just how serious the problem is. Despite what society is lead to believe, the sexual abuse of a child is the least common out of all forms of child abuse. Out of the different types of child abuse, neglect is the most common, followed by physical abuse, and then sexual abuse comes at the bottom. Still, of all the cases of child abuse reported to and substantiated by authorities, approximately 15% of them concerned sexual abuse. ). It is possible that there are more cases of child sexual abuse, however, and they simply are not being reported. Due to the number of undisclosed cases of child abuse, researchers have conducted various prevalence studies over the years to determine the true number of sexual abuse of children. These studies have determined that around 20% of women and 5-10% of men in America in were sexually abused as children. A great deal of controversy surrounds the number of male victims of child sexual abuse, due to a lack of quality studies. The problem with prevalence studies is that they don 't all share the same definition of abuse, nor do they share
Children between the ages of three to five years old are considered to be the most vulnerable to be a victim of sexual abuse. Children need to have supervision at all times, especially during times like changing clothes and bathing. If unsupervised, this can open the door for sexual abuse by the relatives, babysitters, etc. The second risk factor is the socioeconomic status; the offender will notice the child isn’t getting any attention from the family and will manipulate the situation with the child. The perpetrator will offer to buy the child things that the family can’t buy for the child, listening to the child’s problems and gain their trust. The level of education plays a role, if the child is raised by a single parent and/or if the parents have marital problems. Once trust is established this is when the perpetrator will sexually abuse a child. Lastly, the final part is how well the
The statistics of prevalence for child sex abuse varies because of all the unique cases of child sex abuse that is reported. Although, statistic show that one in three girls will be sexually abused at one point in the United States and boys are one in seven to be sexually abused (Anderson, 2014). Children are not susceptible to crime as shown in the statistics because predators like pedophiles have fetishes towards little boy or girls. One study found that 10% of children experienced or came close to experiencing a form of sexual violence which would include rape, sexual assault, or harassment (Anderson, 2014). The numbers shown in the statistics are higher because of the unreported cases. 30% of cases involving child sex abuse are reported to the local authorities and 73% to 87% of female adolescents who are abused sexually are not treated or identified by by the community (Anderson, 2014). Child sex abuse is also costly because it costs the United States an estimated $103 billion for the abuse and negligence (Anderson, 2014). On another note, 80% of children who have been sexually abused have symptoms of PTSD (Anderson, 2014).
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.
Every year thousands of children are abused. This abuse can be physical, emotional or sexual in nature. All forms of abuse are wrong, all forms of abuse are harmful, but childhood sexual abuse can cause major emotional and physical harm in our adolescents. Before we can properly treat these victims we must first have a solid grasp of how and why sexual abuse occurs, the typical effects of the abuse and how the abuse changes the child's stages of development.
Child abuse and child molestation are two very thoroughly discussed topics, especially in today 's society. Prevention of any kind is needed greatly, and needed as soon as possible. There are many and many prevention possibilities that could be done, the worst part about all of this is people are more selfish and don’t stand up for anything they intend to stand up for. Penalties that are given in a situation like this one should be, since the parents may think they have all the right in the world to do as they please then, they should get the same done to them. As of molestation, the parents or guardians should be sent straight to the death penalty, and should have to pay for what they have done. Someone in the arguing standpoint on this issue could completely disagree with everything that is said up above. There could be a parent or guardian that thinks the child ruined their life or the way this person was raised could affect this issue, so they are going to make the child pay for what they have done, when they could have prevented the issue that they started earlier on. The parent or guardian of the child also could have had thought that the child is a threat and will continue to be a threat, so they abuse them in ways as they please. A lot of people or adults know that this is wrong, but in their heads it 's all ok.
A term that is quite often used in today’s society is family violence, more specifically child abuse and spousal abuse. A term that is not heard often is elder abuse, which is unfortunate due to the fact that it is a fairly common occurrence. It was estimated that in 2009, one in ten elderly Americans were victims of elder abuse within the previous year (Acierno, 2010). Even though elder abuse is prevalent here in America, it is seldom that this phenomenon is actually discussed.
Child sexual abuse (CSA) remains a severe and widespread societal problem in the United States. 62,939 cases of child sexual abuse were reported in 2012 (US Department of Health and Human Services, 2013). Though difficult to obtain concrete figures, it is estimated that approximately 1 in 6 boys and 1 in 4 girls are sexually abused before the age of 18 (American Psychological Association, 2011). CSA shows no prejudice with regard to social class, ethnicity, or other demographic variables. As discussed later, not only does CSA negatively impact the child presently and later in life-psychologically and behaviorally, but it also creates a burden on communities and mental and physical health care services.
Research indicates that 1 out of every 4 children will be the victim of sexual abuse before reaching age 18
The issue of child abuse and neglect is serious, controversial, and is escalating in today’s society. Many people are not aware, but child abuse is rampant in our society. Many child abuse and neglect cases go unreported because a person may not know the signs and symptoms of child abuse and neglect or perhaps the person or person may feel that this is an private issue and needs to be handle with in the home and no outsiders should be involved. Without the proper awareness of child abuse and neglect and the involvement of everyone this issue will continue to raise our eyebrows.