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Sexual abuse
Today as more crimes are happening, many children do not report about sexual abuse. They face traumas in life and they never even report about that and carry on with their life on a daily basis. As they grow up and move into adulthood. They tend to have a broken heart and also develop a sense of low self esteem. Some misbehavior and acting could be due to the incidents they faced in their life in the past. At times they can feel confused and angry.
To cope with sexual abuse, there are many children who develop survival skills. These behaviors can help them a lot to cover up with what they actually feel. Most of the times, family members and friends tend to help them in crises situation. They judge the problem and try to find solutions for them.
Today, the amount of reports is increasing each year. This is happening due to compulsory reporting laws and also due to better public education and higher public awareness of the problem. In the past 30 years, there have been key developments in law enforcement. These laws have made it easier to deal with victims. They have also made it easier for their families and help them have a greater understanding. With this, they can come forth and help their family members who are coping with sexual abuse. According to the Commonwealth Fund Survey of the Health of Adolescent Girls, out of sexually abused children in between grades of five and twelve, 48% boys and 29% girls never told anyone about the abuse. They did not even mention this incident to their friend or sibling. Some of the reasons why this crime is not being reported are:
- Children feel that firstly no one will believe them.
- Some kids have self-blame and they feel it's a shame that it happened to them.
- A parent or another adult believes what they say. However, they would not want to involve a third person into this issue, some parent's feel that it is a personal issue and they should keep the child away from this. This will not cause any disturbance in the community as such.
- The family or the child is afraid of reprisal from the person who has done this.
If your child or parent decided that the issue should not be reported, you need to realize that you need to be assertive to report this issue at the time of abuse. There are different techniques which can help you heal and also get a greater understanding of what has happened to you or your child. Healing is very much possible irrespective of how long back the abuse took place. Apart from that, you can get some help to overcome the pains experienced.