Short-Term Effects Of Child Sexual Abuse In Childhood

Studies have shown a clear correlation between childhood sexual assault (CSA) and negative sexual experiences later in life. Of relevance to the criminal justice system, these later forms of sexual victimization include sexual assault and sex work. The relationship between CSA and adverse sexual development is a correlation between two things, not a direct pathway from cause to effect. While survivors of sexual assault are at a higher risk of experiencing these later forms of victimization, this correlation represents a highly complex process involving a wide range of mediating factors and the intersections between them. Any experience of sexual assault is highly traumatic. Survivors of CSA, however, represent a unique population, because their trauma occurs near the start of the human developmental process and therefore alters all development thereafter.

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.

Sexual abuse is a prevalent crime that can have numerous short and long term effects on a victim. It describes as any form sexual activity that is accomplished by force or threat where consent is not given. This includes rape, molestation, incest, and other similar forms of non-consensual sexual contact. The effects of sexual abuse are not the same for every victim, victims may feel varied responses and emotions that can depend on own situations. The act of abuse may had happened a long time ago or be more recent.

Anyone can be sexually abused such as young children, adolescents, or adults. Sexual Abuse can either change an individual or cause them to look at life differently and grow. When traumatic situations and stress happens at an earlier age the more serious and long-lasting the effects will be. Those individuals that shows emotional, psychological, or physical signs in behavior is most definitely affected by Sexual Abuse. All signs and behavior does not apply to all, but some cases that has been previously recorded and examined will be the main focus.

Some children are left to be watched by another family member or a friend of the family and get sexually abused by them. Sometimes children are forced to have sexual activities going on with an adult without the parents knowledge. That leaves the child to think that their parents really do not care for them. Children get scared when sexual abuse happens. Some will not tell, because they think they will get in trouble. Sexual abuse can hurt the child's as they get older in life.

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).

One of the most perverse traumas experienced by children is sexual abuse. Sexual abuse is an unfortunate reality for many children all over the world. Most

Two of the consequences of sexual abuse that interest me the most is posttraumatic stress disorder and repressed memory. PTSD is known as an anxiety disorder that occurs in response to experiencing extreme stress (McCoy & Keen, 2014). The rates of PTSD vary among the type of sexual abuse that has occurred (McCoy & Keen, 2014). Victims of sexual abuse usually have to deal with PTSD. They have flashbacks of the terrible indicants, could happen randomly or be triggered by anything. Since the triggers could happen any time, it could prevent the person from prevent the person from being able to move on, which could stop them from living a successful and happy life. Another consequence of sexual abuse is repressed memory. Repressed memory is when the brain forces unacceptable thoughts, desires or memories into the unconscious (McCoy & Keen, 2014). This is done so the brain can protect itself. It takes a lot of energy for the brain to hide these memories and they can reappear caused by a trigger (McCoy & Keen, 2014). It makes

When one thinks of a young child one thinks of joy, innocence, and being carefree. Too often than not though that innocence is taken from a young child through sexual abuse. Studies have shown over and over again that a child who has been sexually abused carries those scars with them into adulthood, many times affecting adult relationships.                           When a person thinks of a child molester they see in their minds the dirty old man image. This is not the case in most abuse cases. Usually the child knows the person that is going to harm them. The offender is usually someone that the child and his or

The current research shows that child sexual abuse has a long-lasting impact on attachment style from early childhood continuing into adulthood. Fresno et al. (2014) were interested in the attachment representations in preschool aged children in Chile because few studies focus on CSA survivors that young and the results of those few studies have not been conclusive. Past studies have found inconsistent results; some studies have determined a CSA is directly linked to insecure attachment representations in survivors, and other studies have found no differences in self-representation among children with CSA history and non-abused children and furthermore, children who were sexually abused had more positive representations of themselves than

Physical: Sexual abuse is the involvement of vulnerable adults that are involved in sexual activities, they were force to take part in. Such as rape or other sexual activities. This may take place in health and social care setting such as care homes, residential homes and the service users own home. Short terms effects may be short term but still have a lasting effect on the individual’s health and well-being, such as sexual transmitted infections for example medication can be taken to get rid of the infection but also can have lasting long terms effect on the individuals which can leave them with irreversible illness such as HIV which will be with them for life. They may

When most people think of “child abuse”, the disturbing news stories of young girls being raped or sexually exploited come to mind but that’s not the only side of it. People seem to only consider physical abuse armful when emotional and mental abuse is just as bad, if not worse.

Every year thousands of children are abused. This abuse can be physical, emotional or sexual in nature. All forms of abuse are wrong, all forms of abuse are harmful, but childhood sexual abuse can cause major emotional and physical harm in our adolescents. Before we can properly treat these victims we must first have a solid grasp of how and why sexual abuse occurs, the typical effects of the abuse and how the abuse changes the child's stages of development.

increased anxiety, fears, emotional lability, depression, oppositional and conduct disorders, and substance abuse are other reported sequelae to sexual abuse. Interpersonal difficulties, increased rates of re-victimization later in life, and increased risk for suicide are encountered more frequently among child sexual abuse (p. 2).

Any victim of sexual abuse faces the chance of having their development impacted. This is especially true amongst children. Studies have proven that children who have been sexually abused by a female offender often have different developmental experiences (T.A. Gannon, 2008, p. 356). Mental illness is yet another impact that victims face. Many sexual abuse victims transpire into states of depression, rage, and suicide; they even have strained relationships with certain individuals (Denov, 2014, p.