The Treatment Of Young Victims Of Child Sexual Abuse

This paper reviews several articles that discuss the lasting effects that sexual abuse can have on a child into their adult years. The articles agree that victims of child sexual abuse (CSA) will most likely suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and/or experience revictimization. This paper will also address the common forms of coping that victims of child sexual abuse take part in. Some research will touch on proper healing techniques for victims of CSA to receive.

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.

When working with those involved a sex offender or an individual that presents sexually maladaptive behavior in many cases these individuals have undergone some type of sexual, physical or emotional abuse. Whether it was a single event or abuse and maltreatment that lasted for years there will be psychological consequences that present themselves in a multitude of ways. If this trauma would go untreated the individual that was subjected to it would face a lifetime of negative consequences stemming from this abuse. One viable intervention option to treat the abuse and maltreatment is Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. This type of therapy addresses both the child and caregivers trauma related to this abuse (Allen and Johnson, 2012).

As many as one in three females have experienced sexual abuse by the age of 18 (Russell, 1986). Many survivors of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) experience negative psychological symptoms (Browne & Finkelhor, 1986; Kendall-Tackett, Williams, L. M., & Finkelhor, 1993). These women may later in life engage in relationships. The negative impact of sexual abuse could result in challenges faced by the relationship due to shame and difficulty with trust (Kochka & Carolan, 2002; MacIntosh & Johnson, 2008). CSA may also result in sexual challenges for the couple (Kochka & Carolan, 2002). Research has found that couples therapy can be of significance to the healing of the CSA survivor as well as functioning and growth in the relationship (Kochka &

Victims can exhibit all sorts of mental and emotional reactions to the unwanted violation of assault. Mentally, the most common effects are PTSD, depression, and dissociation, all of which are not remediable overnight and ordinarily require outside help (Effects of Sexual Assault and Rape, 2017). Outside help includes speaking with a psychiatrist. However, the healing process is lengthened unnecessarily because it takes at least a year for 75% of child victims to tell someone what happened (The Assessment Center, 2016). For all ages, this waiting time before attempting to receive help serves the prevention of the healing process, thus prolonging the span of time spent in pain.

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

Karajurt and Silver wrote the article, “Therapy for Childhood Sexual Abuse Survivors Using Attachment and Family Systems Theory Orientations,” to show how Childhood Sexual Abuse affects the child through adulthood. Childhood sexual abuse is better known as any sexual contact that an adult does by using threats, force, deception, touching, and anything that the child does not know is wrong due to age and mental stability. Karakurt and Silver (2014), says that:

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.

It is essential that those involved in making this assessment fully understand the nuances of complex developmental, emotional, psychological, cognitive, and trauma-related factors involved. For this reason, a clinician who has been trained specifically in working with children who have experienced sexual abuse should direct the assessment (Price, 2004). If no one with those skills is available locally, the provider team should arrange for an ongoing consulting relationship with a specifically-trained clinician to help oversee and facilitate the decision-making process and to inform any

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

Childhood sexual abuse is a difficult topic to comprehend let alone have open discussion about the issue. I know for me, I cannot fathom someone wanting to hurt a child in this way, but then I wonder what makes a person have the desire to afflict such a traumatic experience on a child. The reading this week did not answer the questions I have, but it did give me a better understanding on how people cope with these experiences.

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

After working in Child Welfare for over a decade, sexual abuse of a child is still the most traumatic abuse that I have ever encountered. This abuse not only affects the victims psychological and mental states, but may also affect their surroundings to include, community, family and friends. Childhood sexual abuse includes engaging in sexual activities with children 0- 17 years of age by way of fondling, touching in a sexual manner, attempting sexual intercourse (oral, anal or vaginal), and having any type of sexual intercourse with children (Dube et al., 2005). This abuse is a major societal problem that presents an array of difficult decisions for those involved in its investigation and substantiation process (London, Bruck, Wright & Ceci, 2007).

Childhood is a period in a person’s life that is a time to learn through play and is often regarded as carefree of any worries due to the innocent nature of children. . However, some children are not as lucky to have joyful memories of childhood. Many children are negatively impacted early in life by being sexually abused which scars their path to adulthood, thus creating victimization and trauma (Burgess et al. 2013). Any sexual touching of children, also non-touching such as showing, hearing, or feeling anything sexual, is an offense defined as child sexual abuse (“Child Sexual Abuse”, 2017). According to Darkness to light.org (2017) more than 90% of abusers who sexually abuse children are people children trust, know, and love. Informing

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, 9.3% of cases of maltreatment of children in 2012 were classified as sexual abuse. Also, 62,939 cases of child sexual abuse were reported in 2012. Childhood sexual abuse refers to a kind of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation (Zimbardo, Johnson & McCann, 2014). There are many risks factors and reasons for childhood sexual abuse. These include family structure, gender, age, race, ethnicity, place of residence, and socioeconomic status. For example, children who live with a single parent, who is female, who are the ages of between 7 and 13, who are African American or Hispanic ethnicity, who live in rural areas, and who are in low socioeconomic status households are more likely to be identified as a victim of child sexual abuse. Also, children who witness or are the victim of other crimes are significantly more likely to be sexually abused. It has great impacts on various facets of a victim’s adult life