Older Woman Essay

The effects of childhood sexual abuse carry on with the children forever. To what extent and to what effect does abuse have on children during adulthood? What are the main issues that adults have been abused suffer from in adulthood? Do they have more of a physical issue with preforming with their partner in the bedroom or do they have more of a mental block due to their trauma? The world had been asking these questions for far too long and we need answers on how helping the children of our world. The questions that have been stated have been answered through the two articles that will be summarized below.

Victims of sexual assault suffer from a wide variety of mental and emotional issues throughout their lives as a result of the experience. Results can range from depression, anger, feelings of loneliness, and difficulty when trying to formulate relationships of trust (Hyde 45). Victims experience a wide variety of psychological issues as a result of sexual crimes, which they will have to carry with them throughout their entire lives. Also, “Psychological problems can start later in life with changes in behavior- vague fears, feeling unprotected and helpless, nightmares, bedwetting, sleeping problems, fear to loss parents approval/love, need to please others, poor self esteem, anger, depression, withdrawal from activities, daydreaming, difficulty concentrating, behavior problems” (Hyde 47).

Being sexually abused is a very traumatizing experience, and this form of victimization at a young age only amplifies the situation. The mortifying nature of child sexual abuse often brings along with it changes in the victim's life. Some of the numerous short term effects (problems that impact them while they are still at a young

This paper will examine the impact of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) on women’s sexual behavior in adulthood. Childhood sexual abuse has been associated with a plethora of physical and emotional symptoms in women. It has been noted that there is a significant relationship between this maltreatment and the development of abnormal sexual behavior. Some women who have been abused as children are suffering from lack of sexual desire, emotional distress, sexual dysfunction, or engage in risky sexual behavior as they become adults. This paper has two purposes: (1) to provide a broad overview of the research on long-term effects of childhood sexual abuse on mental and physical health and (2) encourage counselors and therapists alike to seek knowledge of this issue and in turn provide victims of CSA with effective methods to overcome and deal with any long-term issues of childhood sexual abuse.

When most people hear the phrase sexual abuse we all have a tendency to assume the victim is a female. It is only a myth that males are not sexually assaulted, or that it only happens in while incarcerated. Sexual assaults can happen to anyone no matter their age, sex, orientation, or even identity. In fact, in between 9-10% of all male rape survivors outside of prisons are male and 16% of men have experienced sexual abuse before the age of 18. These reports are only an estimate because most male survivors of sexual abuse will either never report it or they encounter barriers while trying to report it. (Male Survivors of Sexual Assault, 2015) “The U.S. Department of Justice records an average of greater than 12,000 reported sexual assaults of men annually, and predicts that if unreported assaults are included, the actual number of men who are sexually assaulted in the United States each year is approximately 60,000.” (Male Survivors of Sexual Assault, 2015)

Each year there is an estimated 4 million elderly Americans that are victims of physical, psychological, or abused in other ways (Elder Abuse and Neglect: In Search of Solutions. (n.d.). Retrieved January 26, 2016, from http://www.apa.org/pi/aging/resources/guides/elder-abuse.aspx). There are some cases that get reported to the proper authorities and some cases that do not get reported at all. For the abused elderly people, their lives are put at risk and their health also declines. They feel helpless and lonely and have increased psychological distress and research has suggested that these victims die earlier than those who have not been abused (Elder Abuse and Neglect: In Search of Solutions. (n.d.). Retrieved January 26, 2016, from http://www.apa.org/pi/aging/resources/guides/elder-abuse.aspx).

Elder mistreatment is a serious problem in America, yet it often overlooked. Elder abuse is defined as abuse in older adults that includes, but isn’t limited to physical, emotional, financial or sexual abuse. It is a single or repeated act or lack of appropriate action, occurring within any relationship where there is an expectation of trust, which causes harm. It is often misunderstood and dismissed as just a family matter when in fact, that is the least common source of cruelty amongst the elders. According to the National council of aging, 1 in 10 Americans aged 60 and older have experienced some form of abuse. Some estimates range as high as 5 million elders who are reportedly abused yearly.

The Centers for Disease control reports that one out of every five women will be sexually assaulted or raped during their lifetime with most victims being girls or younger women. According to RAINN, the Rape, Abuse, Incest National Network (https://www.rainn.org) which calls itself “the nation 's largest anti-sexual assault organization,” nine out of ten rape victims are women and there are more than 237,000 victims of sexual assault in the U.S. every year, with a reporting rate of only 40 percent. Eighty percent of victims are under 30. Two-thirds of all the reported assaults are by someone known to the victim and only 3 percent of rapists get any jail time. The effects of rape are long lasting and have public health and social welfare consequences. According to RAINN, victims of sexual assault have higher rates of depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and drug and alcohol abuse than the general population. Rape is a personal issue because of the trauma it induces in its

The first major investigation of elder abuse in the U.S. was in 1996. This study was called "The National Elder Abuse Incidence Study." This study found 449,924 people over the age of sixty had been abused. There were five different forms of neglect that had been explored, emotional, physical, sexual, potential neglect, and financial abuse. These numbers are not accurate, because a lot of these incidents are not reported. Data showed that approximately 1,000,000 adults living the U.S had been abused. Studies conducted in Canada and Great Britain also showed a large percentage of physical and verbal abuse amongst the elderly. In 1996, 3005 individuals between the ages of 57-83 were surveyed, asking about different types of abuse that happened over the years. There was 9% prevalence of verbal abuse, .2% physical abuse, and 3.5% financial abuse. Females and those who were frail were the ones who experienced more verbal abuse. African Americans were more likely to experience financial abuse.

Due to the recent "discovery" of elder abuse and the failure of the battered women's movement to reach out to older persons, the physically abused older woman is not necessarily seen as a battered woman. Elder abuse has been viewed as more akin to child abuse, thus leading to a paternalistic approach to the problem. This article contrasts the prevalence, causal models, and effects of physical abuse amon young and older women. Interventions in the case of spouse and elder abuse are also compared. The author concludes by suggesting ways in which helpers might borrow from the battered women's movement in order to better serve older battered women. Due to the recent "discovery" of elder abuse and the failure of the battered women's movement to

There is connectivity among demographics of abused people. Abuse of a child and elderly person appear to be similar. It would also appear that those who abuse choose those who are easily manipulated or who are easy to physically control. Kanal (2011) establishes that the elderly are in a very venerable position, what makes this type of abuse problematic is that abuse takes place by the hand of trusted caregivers, nursing homes, and even family members. The author also suggests that the “cycle of abuse” theory is also common. In this instance, the children of abusers find justice in abusing the parent or guardian in later years as a form of payback (p. 195). On the other side of the abuse spectrum is domestic violence. This is an interesting

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.”

Male sexual assault is not as prevalent in society’s search for justice for assault as female sexual assault is, but there are many myths that exist about men who have been sexually assaulted at any time of their lives. While between 1 in 5 and 1 in 11 men are sexually assaulted, there is not nearly as much researched available on the topic, which leads to the incorrect assumptions about the assaulted men themselves. Studies show that men are more likely to be assaulted as adults if they were assaulted as children. Many men have physical, mental, and sexual effects as a result of being sexually assaulted.

Research conducted in the United States of America clearly identifies an interaction between victim age and abuse characteristics (USDHHS, 2003). There exists a negative correlation between the onset and prevalence of physical neglect and victim age, for instance, indicative of a young child's dependency upon the caregiver for supervision and nurture (Mash & Wolfe, 2005). The incidence of physical and emotional abuse is also most prominent during developmental periods of independence, specifically the early, pre-school and adolescent transitional stages of development (ibid). Sexual abuse has prevailed most consistently, however, from an onset of age 3 throughout childhood, highlighting the vulnerability of children across the age-spectrum (ibid). Nevertheless, victim gender is emphasised as an influential variable within the incidence and nature of sexual abuse; for females have accounted for up to 80% of reported victims and are more likely to be abused by male family members in contrast to male victims, where the perpetrator of abuse is more likely to be a non-family male offender (USDHHS, 2003; Berliner & Elliott, 2002).

How can nurses ensure that older people are treated with respect and dignity whist being cared for in hospital or in the community?