Sexual Abuse 2 Essay, Research Paper

The growing number of children being sexually abused is leading to many problems in our society. As these abused children become adults, they are still traumatized by their childhood. +++which reports+++The reports investigated account for only a percentage of what really happens. Sexual abuse affects the child s developing cycle as well as their self-esteem. Many adults don t realize that their acts not only hurt the child at that instant, but remains with them forever.

Although the definition can be broad, sexual abuse can be thought of as taking advantage of somebody sexually. Most often, abuse is directed at younger children who do not realize that they are victims. Child abuse has increased in America for the past two decades. This abuse includes sex, touching, or even showing private parts.

BASTARD OUT OF CAROLINA by Dorthy Allison is about a young girl named Bone who is sexually abused by her step-father. He rocked in and ground down, flexing and thrusting his hips. I felt like he was tearing me apart, my ass slapping against the floor with every thrust, burning and tearing and bruising .(Allison 285)

Information from child protective services agencies, researched in 1999, suggest that about 185,000 cases of sexual abuse enter child protective services annually. Children are usually sexually abused by someone that they know such as a friend, relative or even their own parents. Surveys have shown that 65% of offenders were strangers. One out of three girls in the United States will be sexually abused by someone outside her family and one out of four girls will be sexually abused by someone inside her family by the age of 18 (Mather & Debye 12) Child abuse is more common in the lower class group but, this does not mean that abuse is limited to the lower class; it is found across all different types of classes. +++add to the facts on this,+++

_ During the abuse, children are unaware that they are victims of a crime. Children are likely to blame themselves for their victimization, and distressing events may leave them fearing a reoccurrence of these events.” (Armsworth and Holaday, 1998) Children feel that the abuse was somehow their fault. I only knew that there was something I was doing wrong, something terrible It was just me, the fact of my life, who I was in his eyes and mine. I was evil . (Allison 109) Children usually keep these issues to themselves because they know that a personal experence has occurred but are too worried about revealing anything to anyone. They are afraid to act out for fear that the abuse will begin again. I would stand rigid, ashamed but unable to pull away, afraid of making him angry, afraid of what he might tell Mama, and at he same time, afraid of hurting his feelings .(Allison 108) This constant fear can cause major problems in developmental of social skills. Above all, the child will always feel confused.

They will usually ask themselves, “What is going on?” and ” Is this right or wrong?”. For a young child, these types of questions can be confusing, and ultimatly very harmful. Once the abuse begins, children will undoubtly experience conflicts on one hand, may feel a sense of pleasure because of attention they are receiving from the abuser. On the other hand, they experience pain, guilt, and anger from the abuse. Too afraid to cry, or shake, or wiggle, too agraid to move at all . (Allison 47) The question, “Is this right or wrong?” is the greatest conflict within the child s mind. They feel they did nothing to stop the abuse therefore they are responsible. They felt uncomfortable but the abuse was sometimes pleasurable. They somehow deserved and/or caused the abuse. A child will usually feel this way when their self-esteem has dropped and they have no more answers for what they are facing.++example here from the book+++

What makes adults sexually abuse children? It is difficult to imagine that any person would intentionally inflict harm on his or her own child. One can speculate that the abuse may have started with the parent because of the his own negative childhood experience or social isolation. The effect that child abuse has not just on the victims, but on their subsequent victims and on society as a whole, is, in my judgment, far more devastating than the threat of drugs, political upheaval, economic disaster, or environmental destruction… I really think that child abuse is the most significant threat not just to the quality of life in this country, but to life in this country. (Kesegich, p.33)

Sexual abuse by stepfathers is five times higher than among natural fathers, the most common age for onset of abuse is age 10++cite this.+++. Abuse of daughters by fathers and stepfathers is the most common form of reported incest. Sexual abuse can damage not only the victim but also the family. For example, when a stepfather or father sexually abuses the daughter and this becomes known, the mother in most cases will leave him. There are also cases where the mother will be in denial of the abuse and decide to stay with him. This is when things get complicated, when the mother decides to stays with her husband, the child may feel unimportant. Often, sexually victimized children experience severe emotional problems from their own feelings of guilt and shame. Usually the result of a sexually abused child may lead to behavioral problems such as aggression, delinquency, nightmares, eating and sleeping disorders.

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