What Are the Immediate Signs of Sexual Abuse in Children?

[Tautoko Mai]

Children are supposed to be the most unlikely victims of sexual abuse. We all have seen various cases of sexual abuse in the form of rape, molestation, assault, and even harassment. And though we try to deny it, it actually becomes relieving to find out that the victim is an adult. But if abuse is carried out against an innocent child, that's another thing. sexually assaulted hamilton

Sexual abuse is overpoweringly traumatic for such a guiltless and fragile mind. Children are born to be vulnerable, that's why they need their parents to be always there by their side until they grow up. They lack the ability to defend themselves and understand their rights. Because of this, they also become very easy targets for sex offenders and pedophiles.

By the time they experience the actual sexual abuse, the negative effects keep coming in. Not only are their bodies subjected to pain, their entire lives are also devastated. The level of trauma brought by the abuse will result to different consequences that may not appear instantly. Though we don't realize it, majority of the effects actually appear years after - that's when the survivors reach adulthood. Some of it includes post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, drug addiction, and various types of behavioral/emotional problems. sexual abuse helpline

Nonetheless, this does not mean that there are no immediate consequences. In fact, a lot of child victims of sexual abuse may also manifest signs of it right after it took place. Of course, the most obvious sign would be the physical marks and injuries. Many child offenders hurt their victims. Inflicting pain is a show of dominance. It seeks to impose fear unto the child - a way of saying that the offender can hurt her if she tries to fight back or resist. Physical pain is a sign of sexual abuse which is responsible for alleviating the overall trauma suffered by the victim.

Another sign of sexual abuse is the inappropriate knowledge and behavior of the child towards sex. This can be manifested in two ways. The first one happens when the victim starts to become very elusive and withdrawn from other people, even close friends and family. This child suddenly avoids any form of common physical contact with an adult such as holding hands, hugging mom, or sitting at dad's lap. This may be caused by the memory of the abuse. Someone must have laid their hands to the child that the child felt very awkward, or perhaps painful, that she deems any kind of physical contact from other people as similar to it. The second one is a sudden outburst of knowledge about sex. If you happen to hear your six-year old talk about sex and related issues, then someone may be feeding him information. You have to hope at this point that he hasn't had physical contact with the offender yet because teaching children about sex is a grooming process used by offenders in order for them to agree on sexual favors in the future. have I been assaulted

Furthermore, child victims of sexual abuse will definitely become confused right after they are abused. Confusion is built around different forms of emotions such as fear, anger, panic, and self-blame. The victim becomes confused for the simple reason that she doesn't know what actually happened to her. At one instance, fear consumes her, especially when the pain and the wounds are still fresh. She cannot get the face of the offender out of her mind. By the time the physical pain subsides, anger soon gets in. Victims naturally become angry not only to the offender, but to those people who they think did not help them. There have been hundreds of cases where survivors become withdrawn to their families because they blame them for not being there.

Panic happens when victims feel that they should do something about it but they really don't know how to start. While some try to erase and forget the memories, others try to courageously face it. Unfortunately for them, there's a good chance that they will lost hope, and even sanity, that they begin to use drugs and alcohol in order to temporarily wipe off the painful memory. And in no time they become totally fed up in blaming others while the trauma and pain remain within them. This is the period when self-blame takes place. A victim may think of herself as someone who deserves it or someone who was born to be abused. ptsd sexual abuse

Finally, we come upon the conclusion that sexual abuse does nothing but harm to the victims. Although many have survived the ordeal, there are still a lot out there that need our help in understanding what should be done in order for them to survive as well. Even if the signs we just mentioned are very troubling to know, there is always a way in order to fight them back.