According to the National Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, about 80,000 cases of child sexual abuse are reported each year in the United States, and it is presumed that many more occur but are unreported. In court, forensic psychology findings are important to determine if abuse has occurred. Knowing about why children are vulnerable to sexual abuse, the types of people who become abusers, and the outlook for victims of abuse can help in healing.
The public consensus is that most sexual crimes happen by strangers. This is actually a misconception perpetrated by the media; most offenders are either family or have some relationship with the immediate family. Also the belief that child sex offenders are likely to re-offend is also a misconception; there is a very low percentage of re-offenders and it is 25 percent lower than all other criminals.
Sexual abuse can be committed by kids and adults and because of variation in what constitutes as sexual abuse there can be a good number of false positives. While there is a high percentage of abusers who were abused as children themselves, that on its own does not predict the future. Men are almost always the offenders when it comes to child sexual abuse.
The type of person who sexually abuses children typically has a need to control another person in both body and mind. Most abusers know what they are doing is wrong but come up with denial mechanisms. Some adults find it easy to exploit a child’s fears of getting into trouble or of being unloved by the people he or she cares about. As a result, abusers are able to continue victimizing a child as long as the child does not tell anyone about the abuse.
Some abusers tell the child that they will be punished for telling, or they may threaten to harm their victim’s family if the child says anything to another adult. Older children may believe that their abuser is teaching them about sex or that they are in a romantic relationship with their abuser. The fact that abusers usually tell children anything to keep them quiet shows that they know the abuse is wrong.
People who were sexually abused as children sometimes become depressed and have difficulty having healthy, trusting relationships with family members and friends. Some turn to drugs for relief or become sexually active at an early age. Victims of abuse are often seen as damaged but with support from friends and family and with counseling or therapy, they can have a happy and healthy life.
Child sexual abuse is rarely an easy thing for victims and their families to work through. Abusers necessarily confuse and manipulate their victims. If the abuse continues for an extended period of time, the victim can develop psychological and behavioral problems. Knowing how and why these problems developed can help families of abuse victims support their loved ones.