Causes Of Child Sexual Abuse

Explain the causes and consequences of child sexual abuse, drawing on psychological theory and evidence.

A report by the World Health Organization (WHO) indicates that child sexual abuse is the involvement of a child partaking in a sexual act that they do not understand, and are not able to give consent to it. They are therefore being forced to do sex without their acceptance. Child sexual abuse is one of the social evils which are increasingly affecting the societies all over the world. As per the WHO statistics, the minor’s sexual abuses prevalence stands at 20% and 8% for females and males respectively. Thus, the issue needs to be given more global attention by the scholars, law enforcers, societies, and the legal systems (Williams, Sawyer,

In this case, the scarcity of the basic needs makes the children vulnerable and easy targets for the sexual offenders. Accordingly, such cases are common with sexually abused teenagers from poor backgrounds who are enticed by the sexual abusers using material items that include money or food (Butcher, Hooley, and Mineka, 2015, 250). The sexual perpetrators pretend to be concerned about the needy teenagers. Unfortunately, these cases are rarely reported by the youths since they get compromised due to the assistance that they are given. Alternatively, they might conceal the sexual ordeal to continue enjoying the benefits extended to them by the offenders (Gilbert and Miles, 2014). Also, the sexual offenders intentionally target the poor minors with the full knowledge that their parents or guardians will not be financially capable of pursuing them in courts of law (Veenema, Thornton, and Corley, 2015, 208). Thirdly, myths surrounding the HIV/AIDS have been linked to the child sexual abuses. According to the above misconception, individuals who commit the sexual acts believe that their immunity condition will be remedied if they have sex with a minor. Consequently, the HIV/AIDS prevalence amongst minors has been increased since most of the abuse cases accomplished in such a manner might lead to the transmissions of the viruses from the sexual offender to the

They will feel trivial and isolated from the rest of the society (Finkelhor, 2010, 98). This is so because sexual matters are considered to be secretive and confined to the adults only. Thus, the sexually abused children will perceive that the society might be having negative attitudes towards them (Smallbone, Marshall, and Wortley, 2013, 89). Besides, if the children are sexually mistreated and they do not reveal the ordeal, they will tend to adopt a solitary behavior in an attempt to conceal the abuser (Butcher, Hooley, and Mineka, 2015). In addition, the abused children are made helpless. This sensation is informed by the fact that they were not able to defend themselves during the sexual assault (Stinson and Becker, 2016, 78). The situation is worsened when the minors cannot report the ordeal to any adult after they are sexually abused (Maniglio, 2001). Alternatively, the other psychological effects of sexual abuses on the minors include the depression, nervousness, eating disorders, and insomnia (Furniss, 2013, 123). On the other hand, the physical impacts of carnal abuse on the young children are easily identifiable (Ney, 2013). Some sexual offenders are known to kill their victims if they suspect that they might expose them. Moreover, the minors are normally subjected to physical injuries in the course of the abuse. In particular, they are visible in the genital areas (Mrazek, and Kempe, 2014,