Why we need to talk about child sexual abuse

Sexual assault is a difficult topic to talk about – it is often stigmatized and surrounded by shame and victim-blaming in our society. A topic that is often even more difficult to talk about is child sexual abuse. According to the nonprofit Darkness to Light, 1 in 10 children will be sexually abused before the age of 18. Even more disturbing is the fact that 90% of child sexual abuse victims know their abuser. While it is common for parents and caregivers to warn children to stay away from strangers, in most cases, children are abused by someone they know – teachers, parents, family friends and even older siblings can all be perpetrators of abuse.

It can be difficult for children to disclose sexual abuse – they often don’t have the language necessary to express what has or is happening to them. And if they do know how to talk about it, they are sometimes sworn to secrecy or are too afraid or ashamed to tell anyone what has happened to them. This can lead to the reoccurrence of abuse or even a lifetime of keeping it in and dealing with the effects of the abuse alone.

Not only does it take time for a lot of people who have experienced child sexual abuse to recognize and verbalize what they’ve been through, but many experience mental and health problems not only in the short-term after the abuse has occurred, but years later as adults. Adults can suffer from a wide range of things, including anxiety, depression, PTSD, substance abuse and suicidal thoughts. Not only that, but some adult survivors experience difficulties with intimacy and trust and sometimes find it difficult to set boundaries, which can lead to re-victimization.

In order to educate people about the prevalence of child sexual abuse and to erase the stigma associated with it, we need to have earnest conversations with the people around us – whether that be people we trust or people who don’t seem to understand the issue. Oftentimes when someone discloses that they were sexually abused as a child, those who know that person are surprised or confused that something so harrowing like sexual abuse could happen to someone who seems, on the outside, to be totally fine. And it’s even worse when people don’t believe a survivor, which is so often the case. It’s important for survivors to find people who support and believe them, and even to seek out people who may have an experience similar to their own.

#Childabuse #Childsexualabuse #Activism