Companions in Hope
What is Child Sexual Abuse?
There is no universal definition of child sexual abuse. However, a central characteristic of any abuse is the dominant position of an adult that allows him or her to force or coerce a child into sexual activity. Child sexual abuse may include fondling a child's genitals, masterbation, oral-genital contact, digital penetration, and vaginal and anal intercourse. Child sexual abuse is not solely restricted to physical contact; such abuse could include noncontact abuse, such as exposure, voyeurism, and child pornography. Abuse by peers also occurs.
Accurate statistics on the prevalence of child and adolescent sexual abuse are difficult to collect because of problems of underreporting and the lack of one definition of what constitutes such abuse. However, there is general agreement among mental health and child protection professionals that child sexual abuse is not uncommon and is a serious problem in the United States.
The impact of sexual abuse can range from no apparent effects to very severe ones. Typically, children who experience the most serious types of abuse - abuse involving family members and high degrees of physical force - exhibit behavior problems ranging form separation anxiety to posttraumatic stress disorder. However, children who are the victims of sexual abuse are also often exposed to a variety of other stressors and difficult circumstances in their lives, including parental substance abuse. The sexual abuse and its af termath may be only part of the child's negative experiences and subsequent behaviors. Therefore, correctly diagnosing abuse is often complex. Conclusive physical evidence of sexual abuse is relatively rare in suspected cases. For all of these reasons, when abuse is suspected, an appropriately trained health professional should be consulted.
Who are the Victims of Child Sexual Abuse?
Children and adolescents, regardless of their race, culture, or economic status, appear to be at approximately equal risk for sexual victimization. Statistics show that girls are sexually abused more often than boys are. However, boys' and, later men's, tendency not to report their victimization may affect these statistics. Some men even feel societal pressure to be proud of early sexual activity (no matter how unwanted it may have been at the time). It is telling, however, to note that men who have been abused are more commonly seen in the criminal justice system than in clinical mental health settings.
Who are the Perpetrators?
Studies on who commits child sexual abuse vary in their findings, but the most common finding is that the majority of sexual offenders are family members or are otherwise known to the child. Sexual abuse by strangers is not nearly as common as sexual abuse by family members. Research further shows that men perpetrate most of the instances of sexual abuse, but there are cases in which women are the offenders. Despite a common myth, homosexual men are not more likely to sexually abuse children than heterosexually men are.
What are the Effects of Child Sexual Abuse?
Children and adolescents who have been sexually abused can suffer a range of psychological and behavioral problems, from mild to severe, in both the short and long term. These problems typically include depression, anxiety, guilty, fear, sexual dysfunction, withdrawal, and acting out. Depending on the severity of the incident, victims of sexual abuse may also develop fear and anxiety regarding the opposite sex or sexual issures and may display inappropriate sexual behavior. However, the strongest indication that a child has been sexually abused is inappropriate sexual knowledge, sexual interest, and sexual acting out by that child.
The initial or short-term effects of abuse usuallly occur within 2 years of the termination of the abuse. These effects vary depending upon the circumstances of the abuse and hte child's developmental stage but may include regressive behaviors (such as a return to thumb-sucking or bed-wetting), sleep disturbances, eating problems, behavior and/or performance problems at school, and nonparticipation in school and social activities.
But the negative effects of child sexual abuse can affect the victim for many years and into adulthood. Adults who were sexually abused as children commonly experience depression. Additionally, high levels of anxiety in these adults can result in self-destructive behaviors, such as alcoholism or drug abuse, anxiety attacks, situation-specific anxiety disorders, and insomnia. Many victims also encounter problems in their adult relationships and in their adult sexual functioning.
Revictimization is also a common phenomenon among people abused as children. Research has shown that child sexual abuse vicitms are more likely to be the victims of rape or to be involved in physically abusive relationships as adults.
In short, the ill effects of child sexual abuse are wide ranging. There is no one set of symptoms or outcomes that victims experience. Some children even report little or not psychological distress from the abuse, but these children may be either afraid to express their true emotions or may be denying their feelings as a coping mechanism. Other children may have what is called "sleeper effects". They may experience no harm in the short run, but suffer serious problems later in life.
Can Children Recover from Sexual Abuse?
In an attempt to better understand the ill effects of child abuse, psychologists and other researchers have studied what factors may lessen the impact of the abuse. More research needs to be done, but, to date, factors that seems to affect the amount of harm done to the vicim include the age of the child; the duration, the frequency, and intrusiveness of the abuse; the degree of force used; and the relationship between the abuser to the child.
Children's interpretation of the abuse, whether or not they disclose the experience, and how quickly they report it also affects the short- and long-term consequences. Children who are abuse to confide in a trusted adult and who are believed experience less trauma than children who do not disclose the abuse. Furthermore, children who disclose the abuse soon after its occurrence may be less traumatized than those children who live with the secret for years.
Some researchers have begun to look at the question of whether someone can recover from sexual abuse, and, if so, what factors help in that recovery. Children and adults who were sexually abused as children have indicated that family support, extra-familial support, high self-esteem, and spirituality were helpful in their recovery from the abuse.
It is important for victims of abuse to relinquish any guilt they may feel about the abuse. Victims also report that attending workshops and conferences on child sexual abuse, reading about child sexual abuse, and undergoing psychotherapy have helped them feel better and return to a more normal life. Research has also shown that often the passage of time is a key element in recovery.
Counseling and other support services are also important for the caregivers of abused children. One of the strongest predictors of the child's recovery from the abuse experience is a high level of maternal and family functioning. (This, of course, assumes that the abuser was not a member of the immediate family or, if so, is not still living within the family.)
Note: The source for the above Q & A is the American Psychological Association. The information covers child sexual abuse in general, not specificallly clergy child sexual abuse which researchers have found often results in more severe damage as the abuser is often viewed by the child child as a representative of God or as God himself. Therefore, many victims and survivors of child sexual abuse by clergy describe their abuse as "soul murder'.
For More Information
Fact Sheet: Sexual Abuse of Children - published by Prevent Child Abuse America
Fact Sheet: Sexual Abuse of Boys - published by Prevent Child Abuse America
The consequences of childhood trauma can last for a lifetime - published by Independent.ie
Child Abuse Definitions - published by ChildHelp, Inc.
Physical and Fetal Abuse - published by ChildHelp, Inc.
Emotional Abuse - pubished by ChildHelp, Inc.
Sexual Abuse - pubished by ChildHelp, Inc.
Spiritual Abuse - published by ChildHelp, Inc.
Statistics - published by ChildHelp, Inc.
Social Implications of Child Abuse - published by ChildHelp, Inc.
Dissociation: An Excerpt from Rebuilding the Garden: Healing the Spiritual Wounds of Childhood Sexual Assault by Karla McLaren
Minimization: An Excerpt from Rebuilding the Garden: Healing the Spiritual Wounds of Childhood Sexual Assault by Karla McLaren
More Information can be found on our On Healing page here.