Child abuse - sexual Health Article

Alternative Names

Sexual abuse - children

Definition

Child sexual abuse is the deliberate exposure of minor children to sexual activity. This means a child is forced or talked into sex or sexual activities by another person. Such abuse includes:

• Oral sex
• Pornography
• Sexual intercourse
• Touching (fondling)

Causes, incidence, and risk factors

Society was reluctant to deal with child sexual abuse a few decades ago. Today, it is considered a serious issue.

It is difficult to determine how often child sexual abuse occurs, because it is more secret than physical abuse. Children are often scared to tell anyone about the abuse. Many cases of abuse are not reported.

Abusers are usually men. They tend to know the person they are abusing. The abuser violates the trust of the younger person, which makes the sexual abuse even more devastating.

Child sexual abuse occurs in all social and economic classes of people. It has the same type of risk factors as physical child abuse, including:

• Alcohol and drug abuse
• Family troubles
• Poverty

Abusers often have a history of physical or sexual abuse themselves.

A small group of repeated abusers have the psychiatric disorder, pedophilia. Their preferred sexual contact is with children.

Symptoms

Symptoms of sexual abuse in chlildren are similar to those of depression or severe anxiety and nervousness. They can include:

• Bowel disorders, such as soiling oneself (encopresis)
• Eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa
• Genital or rectal symptoms, such as pain during a bowel movement or urination, or vaginal itch or discharge
• Repeated headaches
• Sleep problems
• Stomach aches (vague complaints)

Children who are abused may:

• Display disruptive behaviors such as using alcohol and street drugs or engaging in high-risk sexual behaviors
• Do poorly in school
• Have excessive fears
• Withdraw from normal activities