Innocence Taken Essay, Research Paper

In a world of violence and greed, parents are on the frontlines of a morality battle for the sake of their children. If they are not battling teen drug and alcohol abuse, these protectors of progeny constantly monitor for depression, sexual behavior, bad influences, and everything under the sun that could be in harms way of their offspring. There are many predators in the game of life that seek to manipulate and deceive these innocent juveniles for personal gains and selfish reasons. At a time when their childhood experiences are building the adult that they will become, many are out seeking to distort or pervert this outcome. “Childhood has long been recognized as a critical period in the development of many psychosocial disorders” and one such predator of “wild” is the pedophile (Krivacska 23). Pedophilia is an abnormal sexual desire by an adult for a child, but in all actuality it is the rape of childhood innocence from our youth. As more and more people crowd into this densely populated city, pedophilia increasingly grows as a major social problem for Miami. Just over a year ago, a sophisticated “pedophile sex ring” was uncovered which had multi-national ties connecting Miami with Italy, China, and England. This is why parents must be prepared in this day and age to deal with sexual child abuse, especially since there are such extensive and elaborate systems in place to hurt children. Education will significantly help in protecting you and your child from those that look to destroy their innocence. Revealing who these people are and how they operate are the first steps to understanding this disturbing subject. Also, knowing how to protect your child from this threat and what types of treatment are used for pedophile victims will give parents a head start in aiding against and combating sexual child abuse.

Before you can arm yourself against the devious pedophile, you must first understand how hard it is to point one out. Pedophiles come in all religions, races, and ethnic backgrounds, hold all different sorts of jobs, and are not limited to the male gender as one might think. The perpetrator can be a member of the family, a friend, a teacher, or a random molester. In the last fourteen months, a teacher, a priest, and a malicious group of Miami residents have all been indicted for crimes against children. The teacher, one having a direct influence on children’s lives daily, was arrested for a lengthy affair with a 15-year-old. Even worse was the fact that he had been accused several times of touching students and offering them money for sexual favors (Bridges). As for the priest, normally one that is respected as a spiritual leader and link to heaven above, he was caught molesting children when working in South Florida and was sent to work in Tampa were he again abused at least four more young boys (Kleinberg). But most despicable of all three is the group of Miami residents. This gaggle of disgust consisted of two men in their mid-50s and two women, ages forty-one and twenty-five. They made their living off of selling girls ranging from twelve to fifteen years young in a child prostitution ring (De Valle). If not for an anonymous tip, the group’s control and manipulation of these girls would have continued.

Control, being a major issue for the pedophile, can be in the form money or expensive possessions that the child might not otherwise be able to attain. Sometimes drugs are used to “hook” them into returning to the source. Pedophiles even will go so far as to threaten the child with physical harm, shame, or lack of love to keep their silence. Going to extraordinary lengths, these predators major focus is to maintain the relationship as a secret due to the fact that it is against the law and they know the price that they will pay in jail if incarcerated. For those that do not know, pedophiles are normally badly beaten or killed in prison due to the nature of their crime. Even thieves receive better treatment than a pedophile would in the “big house.”

Just like you would lock your house to protect it from thieves, parents must know how to reduce the risk of their children from falling prey to those that seek to exploit them. Some common factors that link sexual victims are the lack of parental guidance, support, and control. When these are not present in the family life, the child can easily stray into staying out all night, skipping school, and becoming sexually active (Epstein and De Valle). In supportive family situations, openness between parents and children should be established as soon as they are able to comprehend the fact that you are there for them in any situation that doesn’t feel right. This will give the child the ability to stop and consult parents about an uncomfortable situation before the perpetrator can stake his claim. Another preventive measure is telling your children that respect doesn’t mean blind obedience to adults and authority. The phrase “always do everything the teacher or baby-sitter tells you to do” should be discouraged due to the fact that they believe it will bring punishment upon them if they don’t do as you had told them (A.A.C.A.P.). Following these tips of prevention and encouraging professional prevention programs in the local school system will give your children the weapons to reduce the risk of pedophiles.

Unfortunately, even with proper education and recognition, many children have still fallen prey to these vial predators of youth. Therefore, parents should be able to recognize signs of abuse and understand the different types of treatment used to help children cope with this ordeal. Only through quick detection and subsequent treatment can the abused child hope to overcome serious problems that might develop as the child becomes an adult. The most important and time-sensitive step is recognizing that the act has occurred. This involves constant monitoring of their behavior for changes. The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (A.A.C.A.P.) states “even a two or three year old, who cannot know the sexual activity is ‘wrong,’ will develop problems resulting from the inability to cope with the over stimulation.” Of course, not every child will have the same signs of abuse as others. Who the pedophile is and the age of the sexually abused child are the two biggest factors determining what means the child will use to deal with the situation. Lasting Effects of Child Sexual Abuse gives a complete breakdown of such behavioral traits as it applies to age of the child. Some of the traits mentioned in the book were sleeping problems, drawings or games of a sexual nature, withdrawal from friends or family, and the refusal to go to school (Powell and Wyatt 266). Granted, some of these problems do occur in children without the fact that they are being sexual molested, but the concerned parent should seek out the root of the problem through a medical examination and psychiatric consultation. Never ignore the symptoms in hope that will fade or go away as some parents choose to do.

Seeking psychiatric help for situations of sexual abuse is the most important thing in the road to recovery. The untreated victim of childhood sexual abuse will become the adult with serious problems, making it harder to repair the individual if at all. Gender identity confusion and intimacy impairment are a few problems that untreated adult males have experienced (Sgroi 89-95). Further evidence through a test of personality called the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory has shown that survivors of childhood sexual abuse “reported more somatization, alienation, impulsivity, social introversion, depression, anxiety, and ruminations.” (Kirschner and Rappaport 19). Therefore, immediate response after the act has taken place is vital and through various means and methods, a psychiatrist can repair the emotional wounds. For instance, if the victim was a young child, one that hasn’t reached adolescence, the use of “play therapy” would be used. The therapy begins with “play diagnosis” as a means of using toys or dolls to let the child displace his or her feelings and traumas onto them so the therapist can focus on identifying significant events and assessing their impact on personality and feelings. The therapist would then try to use the same approach but using “play therapy” to begin to heal the child by reversing the displaced feelings back onto the child (Sgroi 1). In contrast to children, group therapy is more suited for the abused adolescent. This treatment gives victims the feeling that they are not the only ones that sexual abuse has happened to and can help one another by relating to each other’s feelings of despair and shame. Group therapy reincorporates the adolescent victims, who feel isolated and alienated from their peers, and begins to build trust leading to exploration and expression of feelings (Sgroi 65). Through immediate professional counseling of children and support from family, the ultimate goal of healing the child’s self-esteem and guilt can be achieved.

Healing is the only hope for a pedophile victim and incarceration is what pedophile deserves. But for a poor child exposed this pedophile’s twisted world, there can be no punishment to take back what will never be again. Even more so are those that contract an incurable disease and must be constantly reminded of the lewd and lascivious assault on their purity of heart. For the 80,000 victims reported yearly in the United States, there is no justice for a embedded feeling that will haunt them for the rest of their lives. But through identification and education, the risk of a child becoming a statistic decreases significantly. And for those that still fall prey, immediate identification and treatment will reduce the lifelong effects giving the child a chance to lead a normal and happy life. From one who has had a half-brother and ex-wife fall to this absolute evil, there are no words of justification that can ever begin to shadow the truth of their innocence taken.

Bibliography

American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (A.A.C.A.P.). “Child Sexual Abuse.” URL:http://www.malesurvivor.org/articles/csa.html (7 Jan. 99).

Bridges, Tony. “Teacher in Sex Case was Earlier Accused of Groping, Assault.” URL:http://www.herald.com/dade/digdocs/001961.htm (6 Jan. 99)

De Valle, Elaine. “’Den Mother’ Wanted for Child Prostitution.” URL:http://www.herald.com/dade/048964.htm (6 Jan. 99)

Epstein, Gail, and De Valle, Elaine. “3 Charged in Possible Sex Racket.” URL:http://www.herald.com/dade/digdocs/061996.htm (6 Jan. 99).

Kirschner, Sam, and Kirschner, Diana Adile, and Rappaport, Richard L. Working With Adult Incest Survivors: The Healing Journey. New York: Brunner/Mazel, 1993.

Krivacska, James J. Designing Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Programs. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, 1990.

Powell, Gloria Johnson, and Wyatt, Gail Elizabeth. Lasting Effects of Child Sexual Abuse. Newbury Park: Sage Publications, 1988.

Kleinberg, Eliot. “2 Settle Sex-abuse Suit Against Priest.” URL:http://www.herald.com/dade/digdocs/012714.htm (4 Jan. 99).

Sgroi, Suzanne M. Vulnerable Populations: Volume2. Lexington: Lexington Books, 1989.