Child Sex Abuse – A Scary Reality

Have you or someone close to you ever been abused as a child? If so, then you have experienced the pain of Child Sex Abuse (CSA). Parents to young boys and girls worry for their safety when they come across instances of Child Sex Abuse (CSA). Every day incidents are reported in the newspapers, over television news and social media with unfailing regularity.

Those who carry the scar of abuse as a child are often haunted by their memories long after the event actually occurred. Thoughts about the event and the circumstances leading to the act may make people seethe in rage or drown you in melancholy and shame.

The dimensions of CSA are complicated and it is something that can have an impact on a lot of people in this world, directly or indirectly. This is a crime that is unlike others like murder, robbery or financial fraud. The actual extent of CSA can rarely be gauged correctly since a majority of the cases go undetected and unreported. What is reported is a fraction of the actual occurrences. Through this article an attempt is made to unravel the frightening world of CSA.

If one turns to statistics for gaining an insight into CSA, then the figures are sure to leave us rattled. In a country like India, almost 53% of children are victims of child sex abuse. The statistics from United Nations International Children Education Fund (UNICEF) is even more damning. As per the survey carried out by them in India on demography and health from 2005 to 2013, it was reported that ten per cent of Indian girls might have experienced sexual violence when they were 10–14 years of age and 30% during 15–19 years of age. Overall, nearly 42% of Indian girls have gone through the trauma of sexual violence before their teenage.

Further statistic can be equally numbing. An NGO in India, Recovery and Healing from Incest, carried out a study and found that as many as 76% of the respondents were reportedly abused during childhood or adolescence.  

Sexual abuse can cause trauma to the extent of destabilising a child’s personality. In extreme cases, CSA can leave scars deeply embedded in the mind of the person leading to a situation where they are unable to live a normal life ever again. If not properly treated, this can lead to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PSTD).

This leads us to a few questions whose answers can give us a better understanding of CSA and help us to equip ourselves to deal such situations when encountered.

What does Sexual Abuse mean?

Sexual Abuse can be in two forms, contact as well as non-contact.

The Incest Survivors Resource Network states "the erotic use of a child, whether physically or emotionally, is sexual exploitation in the fullest meaning of the term, even if no bodily contact is ever made."

Non-touching offences include exposing a child to pornographic material, indecent exposure, leering and deliberately putting the child in the position of having to witness an act of sexual intercourse.

Overtly physical form of abuse occurs when there is any kind of sexual contact between an adult or older teen and a child. Physical contact or touching offences include fondling, touching sexual organs, masturbation, making the child touch the adult sexually, and vaginal or anal penetration with self or objects.

Who are potential child abusers?

Child abusers can be people from outside or from among those who are known to the victim. While the first can be avoided, the second category can be dangerous as they exploit the trust of the child. There are certain characteristics associated with child molesters. It is often seen that those who abuse children have low self-esteem. Research on the subject has also showed that abusers are unable to see the harm in their actions and they are unable to control their actions. Some offenders have themselves faced the trauma of abuse at some point during their childhood.

From relatives to doctors and teachers, parents and siblings to neighbours, servants and babysitters anyone can be a child molester.

In her paper titled “Sexual Abuse: Surviving the Pain”, Barabara E. Bogorad, the founder director of Sexual Abuse Recovery Program Unit South Oaks Hospital, New York, shatters a lot of myths and steadfast beliefs about sexual abuse.

The first and most commonly held belief is that abusers are always men. Reports indicate otherwise, female perpetrators are on the rise, and the victims include both males and females. Present trends show that at least 5% of abusers are known to be women.

Another notion about the abuser being a total stranger in most cases is a myth. More than 70% of abusers are immediate family members or someone very close to the family. It is important to remember that bad guys never look bad by appearance, they way they are portrayed in posters and books, they're often people who are loved, adored and respected.

There is also this misconception that the abuser is always hated. The victim may love the perpetrator dearly and may go to the extent of protecting the abuser. Children who are neglected and unloved in the family may feel "special" about the abuse. It may be the only form of attention or physical contact they are experiencing. They treat the act of abuse as "OK", to convince themselves that they are okay with it.

The idea that only females are sexually abused is also a myth. As much as 30% of all male children are molested in some way, compared to 40% of females.

    

Were you abused during your childhood?

It is a fact that many more girls get abused than boys. Statistics available do not always project a proper picture because most of the cases go unreported. In many cases the victims shut out the painful memories of sexual abuse and sometimes these memories come back when similar environment is encountered viz. sound, smell, a scene from a movie, a facial expression, it could be anything. If someone has a feeling that they had been sexually abused in some form during a very young age, chances are that they were actually abused.  

Why does sexual abuse happen more with girls?

There are pre-dominantly two theories that are forwarded as reason for this. However none can be said to be conclusive. The first being male dominance of women. Even though males are in overwhelming majority as far as perpetrating sexual abuse is concerned, there are instances of male victims and female perpetrators too. The other explanation is that since girls are more accessible, being at home, they are subjected to abuse more easily by family members. Instances of fathers, stepfathers, uncles, and brothers abusing young girls are much more than female family members doing the same to boys.

In today's nuclear family setups it is often that children have unlimited and free access to the Internet over smart phones or home PCs. Vulnerable girls can fall prey to pedophiles scouring the Internet. It is in fact easy for them to gain the confidence and trust of young impressionable girls. After a certain point the abuser will take advantage of this trust-bond and engage in abusive activities.

What are the effects of Child Sex Abuse?

Victims of CSA are at a high risk of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The American Psychiatric Association (1994) lays down the criteria for PTSD, being a traumatic event which results in helplessness, fear or horror, and a wide range of symptoms which include recollections or dreams about the event, strong aversion and avoidance to things related to the trauma, lack of responsiveness and a magnified alertness to threats real or perceived.

Based on available statistics it is seen that women who have been victim of CSA are five times more likely to be diagnosed with PTSD than those not subjected to CSA.

The effects of CSA are both short and long term.

Effects can manifest itself in different forms in the short-term and the long-term period. In the short-term, regressive behaviour like thumb sucking and bed-wetting occurs in case of very young victims while for others it can range from erratic sleep patterns, eating disorders, withdrawal from social activities to avoidance of activities at school. Long-term effects can be anxiety and tension related, can cause the victim to exhibit self-destructive tendencies including substance abuse and alcoholism, and result in insomnia.

Deep psychological impact occurs in a child due to sexual abuse and this can change the victim’s personality completely. In many cases fear and anxiety become a dominant characteristic in their personality in later life. They are also scared to trust other people and hence end up with dysfunctional relationships. Difficulty in adult sexual functionality is also another fallout of sex abuse at a young age.

The true nature and range of emotions, which child sexual abuse victim exhibits are myriad. They can experience anger against the perpetrator and against adults who failed to protect them. Victims also become sexually dysfunctional and undergo trauma while going through the process of having sex. In cases of repeated violation and abuse, victims are rendered powerless, submissive and may also turn reclusive. Prolonged sexual abuse also causes low self-esteem and repulsive wretchedness among some victims.

In a few cases victims may be free from all these symptoms.

How to overcome the effects of abuse?

The effects of child sex abuse can be quite debilitating. It can cause irreversible damage, both physical and mental, in extreme cases. Still victims need to cope with the situation and research is continuously being carried out to help victims overcome the effects.

The recommended therapy, which can be effective in mitigating the pain and trauma, is to spend more time in the company of loving and understanding people. It might sound difficult but it is imperative for the victims to be inclined towards healing themselves. The resolve to come out of the trauma can go a long way in healing the victim.  

How to control and prevent sexual abuse of children?

Here is a chart that can be used to control and take preventive measures against child abuse. It can also help in providing assistance to victims of abuse.

CONTROL & PREVENTIVE MEASURES	PROVIDING SUPPORT AND ASSISTANCE
Through  proper education and awareness	Provide emotional and medical support to victims
Ready access to help through helpline numbers.	Extend Medico-Legal benefit
Introduce and enforce strict laws and policies for dealing with CSA	Training for coping with effects like PTSD
Teaching self-defence techniques	Identifying and meting out punishment to perpetrators

Conclusion

CSA is an evil that is colossal to say the least. There can be no one point solution to prevent its spread, except perhaps by educating children to deal with such situations in a better manner. Studies have identified three main issues that are attributable to the difficulty in drawing up estimates for ascertaining the exact number of children who are victims of CSA each day, throughout the world.

The first major issue is in the definition of abuse, which is very important for proper action to be initiated. Secondly, the numbers of cases reported by the official organisations are much below the actual incidents occurring since many cases are never reported to them. Thirdly, there is no laid down guideline for collating data on CSA, so different studies report different time periods. Some may give data year-wise while others may report number of times a person has been abused over a period or even in the entire lifetime.

CSA is a disease that needs an all-round approach. Stringent penal measures for driving fear into the minds of perpetrators will help in mitigating the instances to an extent. Equipping children with better education and understanding of the situation may help. The society needs to unite and fight against this scourge.