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Child Abuse & Incest
Statistics
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38% of
girls are sexually abused before the age of 18.
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16% of
boys are sexually abused before the age of 18.
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In 1994,
345,400 sexual abuse incidents were reported to Child Protective
Services in the United States.
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In
Arizona, 2,722 sexual abuse incidents were reported in 1994-95.
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90 to 95%
of all sexual abuse cases go unreported to police.
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In most
cases, the child knew the sex offender. With girls, 29% were relatives
and 60% were
acquaintances. With boys, 16% were relatives and 44% were acquaintances.
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Fabricated sexual abuse reports constitute 1 to 4% of reported cases. Of
this, 75% of reports are by adults and 25% are by children.
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Physical
force was not used in two thirds of incestuous abuse.
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Children
who grow in in a family where there is domestic violence are eight times
more likely to be sexually molested within that family.
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68% of
incest survivors were adult victims of rape or attempted rape by a
non-relative at some point in their lives.
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Women who
reported childhood rape were three times more likely to become pregnant
before age 18.
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70 to 80%
of sexual abuse survivors report excessive use of drugs and alcohol.
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70% of
child sex offenders had between 1 and 9 victims. 23% had 10 to 40
victims.
Forgetting Childhood Rape/Abuse
It is not rare for people to say they don't remember an abuse experience
that actually happened.
It is not rare for people to report that there were times when they didn't
remember an abuse experience that they remember now.
When people say these things, we try to describe and explain what they are
reporting with psychological constructs:
"forgetting"
"amnesia"
"repression"
"dissociation"
Three crucial
points:
1. "Amnesia" is a descriptive construct. It directs our attention
to the condition of being unable to remember experiences like childhood
sexual abuse.
2. "Repression" and "dissociation" are explanatory constructs. They
point to hypothesized psychological mechanisms that may be responsible for
the condition of amnesia.
3. All constructs exist on a continuum from descriptive to
explanatory. When it comes to empirical evidence of traumatic and
recovered memories, dissociation is more descriptive of more empirical
evidence than is repression.
It is not rare for people to say that at some point they came to remember
a past abuse experience which they had not previously remembered.
Signs of Sexual Abuse
Because most
children cannot or do not tell about being sexually abused, it is up to
concerned adults to recognize signs of abuse. Physical evidence of abuse
is rare. Therefore, we must look for behavior signs. Unfortunately, there
is no one behavior alone that definitely determines a child has been
sexually abused.
The following are general behavior changes that may occur in children who
have been sexually abused:
Physical
complaints:
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Fear or
dislike of certain people or places
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Sleep
disturbances
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Headaches/Migraines (nausea)
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School
problems
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Withdrawal from family, friends, or usual activities
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Excessive
bathing or poor hygiene
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Return to
younger, more babyish behavior
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Depression
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Anxiety
(social anxiety)
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Discipline problems
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Running
away
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Eating
disorders
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Passive
or overly pleasing behavior
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Delinquent acts
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Low
self-esteem
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Self-destructive behavior
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Hostility
or aggression
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Drug or
alcohol problems
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Sexual
activity or pregnancy at an early age
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Suicide
attempts
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Additional Symptoms
Children who have been sexually abused
frequently have more specific symptoms:
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Copying
adult sexual behavior
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Persistent sexual play with other children, themselves, toys or pets
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Displaying sexual knowledge, through language or behavior, that is
beyond what is normal for their age
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Unexplained pain, swelling, bleeding or irritation of the mouth, genital
or anal area; urinary infections; sexually transmitted diseases
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Hints,
indirect comments or statements about the abuse
The
Silent Problem
Often children do not tell anyone about sexual abuse because they:
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are too
young to put what has happened into words
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were
threatened or bribed by the abuser to keep the abuse a secret
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feel
confused by the attention and feelings accompanying the abuse
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are
afraid no one will believe them
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blame
themselves or believe the abuse is punishment for being "bad"
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feel too
ashamed or embarrassed to tell
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worry
about getting into trouble or getting a loved one into trouble
Silence
enables sexual abuse to continue.
Silence protects sexual offenders and hurts children who are being
abused. Sexual abuse is an extremely difficult and damaging experience.
Today there are many resources to help victims and their families.
Children no longer need to suffer in silence.
Feelings
Children who have been sexually abused feel many different (and often
overwhelming) emotions, including:
Fear...
of the abuser
of causing trouble
of losing adults important to them
of being taken away from home
of being "different"
Anger...
at the abuser
at other adults around them who did not protect them
at themselves (feeling as if they caused trouble)
Isolation...
because "something is wrong with me"
because they feel alone in their experience
because they have trouble talking about the abuse
Sadness...
about having something taken from them
about losing a part of themselves
about growing up too fast
about being betrayed by someone they trusted
Guilt...
for not being able to stop the abuse
for believing they "consented" to the abuse
for "telling"--if they told
for keeping the secret--if they did not tell
Shame...
about being involved in the experience
about their bodies' response to the abuse
Confusion...
because they may still love the abuser
because their feelings change all the time
Protecting Children
As concerned adults, we want to protect children from sexual abuse,
but we can't always be there to do that. We can, however, teach children
about sexual abuse in order to increase their awareness and coping skills.
Without frightening children, we can provide them with appropriate safety
information and support at every stage of their development.
We can provide personal safety information to children in a matter-
of-fact way, with other routine safety discussions about fire, water,
health, etc. Although even the best educated child cannot always avoid
sexual abuse, children who are well prepared will be more likely to tell
you if abuse has occurred. This is a child's best defense. In order to
protect children, teach them:
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to feel
good about themselves and know they are loved, valued and deserve to be
safe
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the
difference between safe and unsafe touches
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the
proper names for all body parts, so they will be able to communicate
clearly
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that
safety rules apply to all adults, not just strangers
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that
their bodies belong to them and nobody has the right to touch them or
hurt them
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that they
can say "no" to requests that make them feel uncomfortable--even from a
close relative or family friend
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to report
to you if any adult asks them to keep a secret
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that some
adults have problems
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that they
can rely on you to believe and protect them if they tell you about abuse
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that they
are not bad or to blame for sexual abuse
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to tell a
trusted adult about abuse even if they are afraid of what may happen
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