Effects Of The Abuse On Young Adults

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.

In the 2013 Child Maltreatment report done by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Administration for Children and Families Administration on Children, Youth and Families Children’s Bureau it was estimated that about 679,000 children nationwide were victims of abuse (See Appendix A). Out of those children 9% had reported experiencing sexual abuse. In the United States, child sexual abuse cases increased by 322% between 1980 and 1990 (Tang 2004). Just in 1995 there were 1.3 million reported sexual assaults (Zeichner 1990). Sexual abuse is defined as any unwanted sexual touch or contact. This includes being forced to show or see someone else’s private parts, or being forced to touch or being touch in sexual parts of the body, or any type of threat or force of any form of sexual intercourse(vaginal, anal, oral) (Finkelhor, 1979). Children who experience sexual abuse can often have a hard time trusting people, even those who are supposed

Physical abuse of the elderly occurs when a carer harms the individual or places them in danger. A carer may be a family member or someone who is responsible for taking caring of them. The carer may hit, slap, kick, push, burn, or force feed the elderly person and these are all considered to be signs of physical abuse. They may also give the wrong amount or even the wrong medicine to the elderly person. Physical abuse also includes sexual abuse; when someone has sexual contact with an individual without their consent.

Abuse and delinquency have been linked together for many years. There have been many studies done to determine whether victims of abuse have higher rates of delinquency, as compared to those who have not encountered abuse. It has been found that adolescents who were victims of sexual assault were three to five times more likely to experience posttraumatic stress disorder, be abused again, be dependent on drugs and alcohol, or commit delinquent acts compared with adolescents who were not victimized (Impact of Child Abuse, 2011). In another study that was conducted to examine the relationship between abuse and delinquency, the data that was found, supported the data that was found in the study above; the authors of the study found that abuse nearly doubles the probability that an individual will engage in crime. This information was found to even be true with twins, one of whom was abused and other one was not (Currie & Tekin, 2006).

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

This report aims to describe the abuse which may affect adults. Abuse is a term in which to describe an act of intentionally or unintentionally harming yourself or someone else leaving physical or emotional damage or effects. There are many types of abuse such as physical, sexual, psychological, exploitation, bullying, neglect and many more. It is difficult to categorise abuse as there could be many reasons behind the abuse and because there are so many types of abuse.

This paper explores 11 published articles which report on results from research conducted on the links between child abuse and adult physical and mental health. The articles vary in their themes and ideas of child abuse in relations to trauma exposure, posttraumatic stress, juvenile offenses, and teen dating violence. Other articles suggest adult criminal behaviors, incarceration and parenting styles of those who were abused as children. This paper examines the relationship within one another of how child abuse affects those children in later years and stages of life.

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).

The current problem is the continued rise in child abuse and neglect today. Within the United States, the problem of child abuse and neglect is far much common than most people would like to admit. Sanchez (2012) stated that child maltreatment is a global epidemic and a major social problem in the United States resulting in at least 740, 000 visits to hospital emergency departments and more than $124 in child welfare, criminal justice, and health care. Norman, Byambaa, De, Butchart, Scott, and Vos (2012) also observed that child abuse and neglect is a global problem that is mostly perpetrated by parental guardians and parents. Sexual abuse is the infringement of a child’s

In the past ten years researchers have increase their knowledge on the understanding of the different effects that maltreatment has on early brain development. A foundation has been set for the neurobiological explanations of children who have experienced sexual abuse in their early years of life. The explanations include areas of physical, cognitive, social, and emotional struggles. There are many different internal and external factors that associate with the way the child develops into adulthood. Variables that can be taken into account are individual factors and environmental factors. For example individual factors consist of children’s temperaments and vulnerability. In regards to environmental factors this contains how caregivers portray abuse along with overall family atmosphere. Some other specific variables associated with abuse are duration, amount of violence, and relationship between victim and abuser. In addition, age has a strong impact on the victim in regards to adult sexual behavior. When a child is abused at a young age he or she is more likely to engage in sexualized external behavior. At the age of six or younger, children have a higher chance to show their abuse through inappropriate and aggressive sexualized behavior. As for older children of twelve and up they lean more towards fear of sex. These children shoe more internal behavior problems as well (Aaron, 2012).

Sexual behaviors and experimentation are very much a part of childhood development. Normative sexual behaviors of children consists of preschool children poking others bodies, and being interested in bathroom functions, while children ages 5 to 7 years are telling dirty jokes, kissing, and holding hands, and children ages 8 to 12 years, are mooning and exhibitionism, kissing, and touching others’ genitals (Caldwell, 2007). However when children are not supervised appropriately they are capable of sexually harming other children. Adolescents are accountable for perpetrating 20% of all sexual assaults, along with 50% of all child sexual abuse cases (Keelan & Fremouw, 2013). However in considering that statistic some sexual harming behaviors can be within the parameters of normal child behavior, and sometimes rarely signal predatory inclinations (Caldwell, 2007). The vast majority of youth harmful sexual acts are manifestations of non-sexual feelings. In fact, many mental health care professionals have found that much of the behavior classified as sex offenses should not necessarily be considered predatory. Therapists point out that many sexual offenses are carried out by naïve experimenters who are overly impulsive and/or immature adolescents that sometimes engage in sexual experimentation (Smith, Wampler, Jones, & Reifman, 2005). Examining the sexual behavior along with the age of the perpetrator and victim helps classify whether or not those behaviors fall

Child maltreatment and neglect increases the likelihood of criminal behavior and arrest as a juvenile. Studies have found that abused and neglected children are found to be at least 25% more likely to experience problems such as delinquency, teen pregnancy, and low academic achievement. Female victims of abuse are more likely to be involved in criminal behavior than male victims. Girls in the juvenile system have reported having a history of abuse prior to their incarceration. About 80% of girls admitted to being sexually assaulted or physically assaulted, some may have experienced substance abuse as well. “75 to 95 percent of girls in the justice system are former victims of abuse.” ( Lawyer Shop, 2015) This abuse often leads to a low sense of self-worth for young women.

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

that many children face. Child sexual abuse is the involvement of a child in a sexual activity in order to fulfill a physical pleasure or a financial profit of the child. The debate on child sexual abuse has shifted through the years from the early 2000s to 2016. Before 2010, the conversation was about informing educators and parents about the issue and how could they prevent child sexual abuse to occur in their fields? After 2010, the conversation shifted to how educators and parents take an actual move in preventing sexual abuse of the children. The conversation has shifted from informing educators and parents of the serious issue of child sexual abuse to taking movement in solving the issue because educators and parents had a limited knowledge of taking an actual move in solving this problem and prevent it to occur to their children.

Primarily, it is important to understand exactly what child sexual abuse is. A resource for survivors of child rape and sexual abuse defines it as “any sexual act with a child performed by an adult or an older child” (Pandora 's Project, 2001). This abuse can be subject to numerous amounts of acts such as; touching one unclothed or clothed, child prostitution encouragement, intentional engagement of sexual activity in front of a child, engaging in unwanted sexual activity, masturbation, penetration (oral) or penetrative sex, etc. (Pandora 's Project, 2001). In the last two years, the subject of childhood sexual abuse has received much attention. The American Counseling Association