| Child Sexual abuse or exploitation
occurs anytime a person older than the child or teenager uses them
for personal gratification.
Due to the innocence and cognitive development of children, they
do not have the understanding and may not be capable of resisting
sexual contact.
Sex offenders convince themselves and the children and youth
whom they sexually abuse that they love them. Be aware that children
and youth may be psychologically and socially dependent upon the
perpetrating offender.
The exposure to inappropriate sexual stimuli encompasses a broad
spectrum of sexual acts, both touching and non-touching.
Touching sexual offenses include, but are not limited
to:
Fondling
Making a child touch an older person or an adult’s sexual
organs
Oral, genital and anal penetration with objects
Anal or vaginal intercourse
Forcible rape, anal or vaginal
Non-touching sexual offenses include, but are not limited
to:
Inappropriate verbal comments
Exposing a child / youth to pornography or to adult sexual
activity
Photographing a child nude in sexual situations or positions
Exhibitionism – exposing genitals to a child
Masturbation in front of a child
Child sexual abuse is defined as a sexual assault on, or the
sexual exploitation of, a minor, and it is criminal behavior
punishable by law.
Symptoms of Child Sexual Abuse
“The first indicators of sexual abuse may not be physical
signs, but behavioral changes or abnormalities”
- American Humane Association
Behavioral signs may include:
nightmares
anxiety when approaching a particular location
(i.e. church, school, nursery area, janitorial
closet, bathrooms)
nervous or hostile behavior toward adults
sexual self-consciousness
“acting out” of sexual behavior
withdrawal from activities and friends
children sexually abusing other children
Physical signs may include:
lacerations and bruises
irritation, pain or injury to the genital area
difficulty with urination
discomfort when sitting
torn or bloody underclothing
venereal disease
walking differently or with difficulty
Verbal signs may include the following statements:
I don’t like a particular person.
That person does things to me when we’re alone.
I don’t like to be alone with that person.
That person hurt me.
That person was mean to me.
LISTEN CAREFULLY!
Children may be struggling to tell and they may not have the
words.
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CHILD
SEXUAL ABUSE: