Childhood Sexual Abuse Victims

Childhood Sexual Abuse Victims

Childhood sexual abuse refers to a form of child abuse where a child is sexually
exploited. This kind of abuse takes many forms including, sexual intercourse, here incest or
defilement are prevalent, child pornography, indecent sexual acts among others (Laura K, et al,
2014). Owing to their vulnerable natures, children face untold horrors and effects upon being
abused sexually. These effects are either short-term or long-term adverse effects.
At the onset, it is important to outline some of the settings where childhood sexual abuse
occurs. According to the UNICEF, some of the settings are at home, schools, work, armed war of
conflict, children with disabilities or exposure to retrogressive cultures within the society such as
child marriage. Child hood sexual abuse also occurs alongside other forms of abuse like child
neglect, absent or single parenting, domestic violence with homesteads and poverty (Laura K, et
al, 2014).
As identified earlier, abuse exposes the child to affects that have an overall impact on
their future wellbeing. The effects are either physical or psychological. Psychologically, the
child develops with high levels of depression, anxiety, shame, self-blame and self-doubt, and
relationship struggles. Depression occurs where the child cannot externalize the abuse thus
thinking negatively about their internal worth and value (Hartman et al., 1987).
By taking personal responsibility for the abuse, the survivors of childhood sexual abuse
experience guilt, shame and self-blame. Such feelings have a long-term effect on the survivor
making him or her suicidal and other self-destructive behaviors (Browne & Finkelhor, 1986).
Physical effects include the following: gynecological disorders, somatization and
gastrointestinal disorders. The gynecological disorders are occasioned by the use of force or

Running Head: CHILDHOOD SEXUAL ABUSE VICTIMS 3
coercion in the sexual molestation. Here, the child may get infected with sexually transmitted
diseases, Urinary tract infection, genitalia injuries such as unexplained wounds or discharges, at
worst pregnancy.
The foregoing outlined effects expose the child to other social problems upon maturity.
At adulthood, a victim of sexual abuse may result to sexually risky behaviors, drug abuse,
suicide attempts as outlined, family or marriage or relationship problems among others (Dube,
2005). These set of circumstances are therefore a call for concerted efforts to not only prevent
but also address victims of childhood sexual abuse.
Currently, there are several systemic endeavors to address sexual abuse. Organizations
such as child protective services, foster and child welfare agencies, the police, and legal aid
teams have been developed to address this challenge. The law enforcement agencies mostly
undertake investigations on alleged instances of childhood sexual abuse as well as prosecute the
cases or refer them to prosecutorial agencies.
Medically, aware of the possible long-term effects of childhood sexual abuse, the practice
has been a biopsychosocial approach. This approach is more of a therapeutic approach. It is
aimed at managing the emotional and psychological needs at childhood before they spill over at
adulthood to negativity, hatred and low self-esteem. This approach is coupled with the direct
medical interventions such as placing the children under anti STI’s or drugs that heal urinary
tract infections or drugs such as post exposure prophylaxis drugs.
Counselling is also an approach to address childhood sexual abuse. This owes to the fact
that psychological effects develop later as the child grows. Counselling should be multi sectoral

Running Head: CHILDHOOD SEXUAL ABUSE VICTIMS 4
and coordinated involving not only the medi-care provider but also the school and other
community groups of interactions such as churches and the rest.
Legally, many instruments recognize child sexual abuse forms as crimes. For instance,
defilement is widely criminalized by states. Internationally, the convention on the rights of the
child also recognizes and outlaws contemporary emerging issues in childhood sexual abuse such
as child pornography, prostitution and all forms of sexual abuse (article, 34).
Despite having solid frameworks to address these challenges, the system has not been
effective. This is evident from research conducted by Kolko et al, (2009) which indicated that
many children experiencing sexual abuse do not receive treatment. The challenges which mostly
sectorial can be addressed in the following ways.
Setting up specialized


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