Sexual Abuse Victims

The number one reason child sexual abuse victims don't tell is that they are afraid they won't be believed.

Why Children Don't Tell

Sexual abuse is shrouded in secrecy. Child and adolescent sexual abuse victims are encouraged to keep the abuse secret because:   Children fear reprisals from the offender.   Offenders tell the child that no one will believe them; and that even if someone does believe, the child will be blamed for the abuse.   Offenders openly threaten the safety of the child and/or members of the child's family.   Offenders tell the child the perpetrator will get into trouble if anyone discloses the sexual abuse. This is particularly fearsome for the child when the perpetrator is a family member, because the child fears abandonment.   Offenders promise gifts and rewards and offer bribes for the child to keep the secret. With young children, this can be candy, toys, trips to McDonald's. With youth, it can be videos, DVDs, rides in a car, sports tickets, sports equipment, clothes, makeup, jewellery, money, anything that is valued by the youth.

How Victims Adapt:

The longer the secret continues, the more trapped in the abuse the child or youth sexual abuse victims become. Survival means learning to adapt to the abuse in a variety of ways:

¤  sexual abuse victims minimize the abuse by pretending that whatever is happening is not really bad--this can take the form of a tough sense of humour

¤  they rationalize the abuse by explaining it away--they blame the abuse on the offender's drinking, drug use, etc.; they develop a twisted sense of love, telling themselves the offender is showing them love

¤  they deny that the abuse ever took place

FACT:  When children's self reports of sexual abuse were compared to video tapes of the incident on film apprehended from the perpetrator, it was found that child sexual abuse victims have a tendency to deny or belittle the experience (Sjoberg & Lindbland, 2002, pp.312-314¹).

¤  sexual abuse victims forget that the abuse ever took place, which is one of the most common and effective ways children deal with abuse

¤  they label themselves--sexual abuse victims believe they deserve the abuse and that it's their fault. Nothing can be further from the truth!

¤  they become controlling--sexual abuse victims try to control themselves and others; they become super-alert and eager to please

Though these coping skills are self-destruction, they are highly effective: they help numb the pain and get the child or youth through each day.

Some Statistics:

  85% of runaways in Toronto are sexual abuse victims (Conference on Child Victimization & Child Offending, 2000²).

  Adolescents with a history of sexual abuse are significantly more likely than their counterparts to engage in sexual behaviour that puts them at risk for HIV (Brown et al., 2000, pp. 1413-1415³).

  A study which inspected the strength of different risk factors for childhood sexual abuse among 179 pre-adolescent girls found that maternal sexual abuse history combined with maternal drug use placed daughters at the most elevated risk. Girls whose mothers were sexual abuse victims were 3.6 times more likely to be victimized (McClosky & Bailey, 2000, pp. 1019-1036⁴).

  The incidence of child sexual abuse was 1.8 times higher among children with disability compared to the incidence among children without disability. The most common disabilities noted included emotional disturbance, learning disability, physical health problems, and speech or language delay or impairment (Barnett et al., 1997, p. 49⁵).

  Child sexual abuse victims are ten times more likely to attempt suicide (Conference on Child Victimization & Child Offending, 2000⁶).

  Child sexual abuse victims are seven times more likely to become drug/alcohol dependent (Conference on Child Victimization & Child Offending, 2000⁷).

How to deal with sexual assault will give you 15 tips if you are a victim of sexual abuse.

If you're a kid and you've been traumatized by abuse, check out never_ever_your_fault.htm The website is a refreshing approach to help you with self-esteem and accountability issues.

Sexual Abuse Victims pages on this site:

Sex Abuse Victims	Male Victims
Female Victims	Victims with Disability
Sexual Abuse Disclosures

Sexual Abuse pages on this site:

Sexual Abuse	Sex Abuse Victims
Sexual Abuse Definition	Male Victims
Sexual Abuse Signs	Female Victims
Sexual Abuse Effects	Victims with Disability
Sexual Abuse Statistics	Sexual Abuse Disclosures

Child abuse information pages on this site:

Abuse Headlines	History of Abuse
Sexual Abuse Signs	Child Abuse Stats
Sexual Abuse Effects	Emotional Abuse
Sexual Abuse Stats	Emotional Abuse Types
Sexual Abuse Victims	Emotional Abuse Signs
Male Victims	Emotional Abuse Effects
Female Victims	Bullying
Victims w/ Disability	Emotional Abuse Stats
Sexual Abuse Disclosures	Physical Abuse
Sex Offenders	Physical Abuse Signs
Male Sex Offenders	Abuse & Discipline
Female Sex Offenders	Physical Abuse Effects
Child Sex Offenders	Physical Abuse Stats
Adolescent Sex Offenders	Child Neglect
Incestuous Sex Offenders	Child Neglect Signs
Internet Sex Offenders	Child Neglect Effects
Child Abuse Law	Child Neglect Stats
Age of Majority	Poverty & Neglect
Duty to Report	Sexual Abuse
Abuse Intervention	Sexual Abuse Defined
Abuse Prevention

References

Sexual Abuse Victims

1 Sjoberg, R., & Lindbland, F. (2002). Limited disclosure of sexual abuse in children whose experiences were documented by videotape. American Journal of Psychiatry, 15(9), 312-314.

2 Conference on Child Victimization & Child Offending. (2000). Working together for children: Protection and prevention data needs for timely intervention.. Paper presented in Toronto, Ontario.

3 Brown, L. et al. (2000). No title. In Sexual Abuse Statistics (Impact of Child Sexual Abuse). Retrieved November, 2002, from http://www.prevent-abuse-now.com/stats.htm#child

4 McClosky, L., & Bailey, J. (2000, October). The intergenerational transmission of risk for child sexual abuse. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 14(10), 1019-1036.

5 Barnett, O., Miller, P., & Perrin, R. (1997). Family violence across the life span.. Thousand Oaks, California, SAGE Publications, Inc.

6 & 7 Conference on Child Victimization & Child Offending. (2000). Working together for children: Protection and prevention data needs for timely intervention.. Paper presented in Toronto, Ontario.

8 Becker, J. (1988). The effects of child sexual abuse on adolescent sexual offenders. In E. Wyatt and G. Powell (Eds.), Lasting Effects of Child Sexual Abuse.. Beverly Hills, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.

9 Wonderlich, S. et al. (2000). No title. In Sexual Abuse Statistics (Impact of Child Sexual Abuse). Retrieved November, 2002, from http://www.prevent-abuse-now.com/stats.htm#child

10 Elliot, D. & Briere, J. (1994). Forensic sexual abuse evaluations: Disclosures and symptomatology. Behavioral Sciences and the Law, 12, 261-277.

11 Sorenson, T. & Snow, B. (1991). How children tell: The process of disclosure in child sexual abuse. Child Welfare League of America, 70, 3-15.

This page was last revised August 8, 2007