Child Molestation
Child sexual abuse can get described as the engaging of sexual activities mostly through trickery with a minor (Martellozzo et al., 2019). A child cannot consent to any form of sexual activity, and therefore, any sexual activity with a minor is illegal. The type of abuse doesn’t necessarily mean physical contact as most perceive. Child sexual violation can be grouped into the following groups, exposing oneself to a minor, fondling, intercourse, obscene phone calls, masturbation Infront of a kid, owning pornographic materials with kids in them. Those that violate the children by abusing them sexually are known as paedophiles. Despite being immoral and against the societal codes, sexual abuse on children can have everlasting effects on the life of the victim. The perpetrators are mostly people who are close to their victims and often use threats to silence their victims. They take advantage of the minor’s vulnerability and thus cannot be said to be their sexual orientation as it is purely malicious. Kids are a very vulnerable group and also have a lot to lose from this heinous act. One should, therefore, take care of kids to cushion them from this monstrous acts and offenders should be brought to justice with stringent measures taken with no room for bending them. An abused kid may have different signs depending on the extent of the abuse, and one should, therefore, be very keen to be able to discern the signs. According to global statistics, 19.8% and 7.9% females and males respectively are molested. These are very alarming and concerning statistics which seem to place every kid at risk of being used as an object of sexual stimulation thus learning on the adverse effects of this form of abuse could play a part in lowering the high number of kid’s violation.
This form of abuse on children has very adverse effects that often the kids in their lives very negatively. One severe impact is on the kid’s mentality. The kid’s mental health is significantly affected by this kind of brutality and hatred that is often subjected to them by close family members. The immediate psychological effects of this animosity include the development of shock and fear (Jean et al., 2017). The kids who are often subjected to love and great care can develop fear as a result of broken trust that extends from the hostility that they receive from people they previously trusted. It leads to anxiety which due to the fear that has grown in the kid as a result of the abuse. This can lead to a depression which has been a significant worry in the current generation. The lowering of the kid’s mood led to their withdraw and minimized interaction leading to them isolating themselves from any social activities. It leads to a slowed development in the kid’s mental growth which is very vital in the kid’s event. This leads to permanent disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder; this involves intense fear from the victim who is always horrified. It also leads to denial, which might see one not accepting themselves, which might result in suicide. In the long run, most victims of child sexual abuse tend to develop a dislike for one gender due to the mentality that was cultivated in them by the brutality that was subjected to them. Most mental disorders, such as schizophrenia and delusional disorder, are associated with child molestation, which might lead to one having hallucinations on the ordeal as well as other signs of psychosis.
A child’s behaviour is the outward representation of their inner being in terms of security and stability. Children who have suffered from sexual abuse often portray their insecurity and fear through their actions. The kid’s behaviour acts as a lens that gives an insight into the struggles or the form of abuse a kid has gone through (Wolf et al., 2019). Like mist form of child abuse molestation often leaves a permanent mark on the kid’s life. Kids express their mistreatment in different ways such as anger and verbal abuse, while others seclude themselves and tend to internalize their sufferings. The unusual aggression by a kid can be a sign of abuse. To feel safer, the child seems to be aggressive as a protective mechanism to put off any further mistreatment from their aggressors. Another prevalent sign that is exhibited is flinching upon touch. It shows that the kid has previously suffered and thus, is traumatized. The reaction from the kid serves as an indication of an encounter that they fear a lot and wouldn’t wish it to happen again. Also, sexual abuse might affect the kid’s behaviour leading them to engage in hazardous activities as well as having suicidal attempts. It can be attributed to the denial that develops from the injustice done to them. The kids also show some restrain while dealing with their abusers who are mostly people close to them (Lewis et. el, 2016). The adverse effects of molestation, which may follow one up to adulthood, include drug abuse such as alcohol. Alcohol acts as a temporary solution as it helps in forgetting these ordeals and thus victims often engage in destructive heavy drinking and tend to be violent as a defence mechanism not to expose their vulnerability which led to their molestation. These behaviours often work as an adjustment to the abuse that occurred and can get to extremes.
In most cases, victims of sexual abuse seem to lose interest in their studies. There is a sudden drop in performance in school. Molestation of children significantly affects their participation in class. Participation in class is directly proportional to the performance (Alexandra et al., 2017). Kids who have undergone abuse frequently reserve themselves and have minimal class participation. It causes an abrupt drop in the kid’s studies and thus affecting their future negatively. It can get attributed to the loss of self-confidence, which causes the kid to have some preservation and therefore, little participation in class. Low self-esteem can be associated with sexual abuse as the kid perceives everyone as better than themselves, thus lower esteem. Sexual abuse can significantly change a kid’s sexual orientation. Most kids may prefer a life of purity due to their pre-experience of sexual relations. Others prefer to settle on the gender that didn’t abuse them a case in point is if a girl gets defiled, she might be into girls rather than the men who subjected her to animosity. Most time, abuse victims tend to question religion as well as the aspect of a superior being. Their big predicament being as to why God neglected them in that time of need or as to why their assailant is still living.
Sexual abuse among kids is very inhumane and should be, therefore, be discouraged at any cost. The offenders should be subjected to harsh punishments such as life imprisonments.
Work Cited
Martellozzo, Elena. “online Child Sexual abuse.” Child Abuse and Neglect. Academic Press, 2019. 63-77.
Renvoize, Jean. Innocence destroyed: A study of child sexual abuse. Routledge, 2017.
Wolf, Molly R., and Doyle K. Pruitt. “Grooming hurts too: the effects of types of perpetrator grooming on trauma symptoms in adult survivors of child sexual abuse.” Journal of child sexual abuse 28.3 (2019): 345-359.
Lewis, Terri, et al. “Does the impact of child sexual abuse differ from maltreated but non-sexually abused children? A prospective examination of the impact of child sexual abuse on internalizing and externalizing behaviour problems.” Child abuse & neglect 51 (2016): 31-40.
Cook, Alexandra, et al. “Complex trauma in children and adolescents.” Psychiatric Annals 35.5 (2017): 390-398.