Essay on the Profound Effects of Child Sexual Abuse
Essay on the Profound Effects of Child Sexual Abuse
For all intensive purposes, my paper considers the use of the masculine pronoun with offenders, and the feminine pronoun with victims, though I recognize that it happens either way.
Imagine
Think back to third grade. Think of the classroom you sat in at school, and think of the clothes you were wearing, the teacher at the front of the room. Think of every detail you can remember. Now try and fathom that same teacher, who you have grown to trust and admire touching you or other children in inappropriate ways. ItÕs disturbing, but it is entirely possible. It is a fact, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation that one in four females, and one in five males between the ages of 7 and 12 will become victims of sexual abuse. More disturbing is that the abuse will more likely than not, be perpetrated by someone close to that child (Reinert, 17).
Defined
Child sexual abuse is defined as sexual exploitation or sexual activities with a child under circumstances which indicate that the childÕs health or welfare is harmed or threatened. Intrafamilial sexual abuse includes incest and refers to any type of exploitative sexual contact occurring between relatives. Extrafamilial sexual abuse refers to exploitative sexual contact with perpetrators who may be known to the child (neighbors, babysitters, live-in partners) or unknown to the child (Wallace, 64).
The problem generally with identifying abuse is the standard by which abuse is considered. Davis Finkelhor, author and researcher describes three standards to determine if a particular action a person takes is abusive. The first standard is Consent. A consent standard says that a act or a series of acts is abusive if a child or adolescent does not give his or her consent, which is permission while understanding the potential consequences of making a choice. Second is the age of the victim standard. Obviously the older and more mature the child, the more capable they are of giving consent. The third standard is that of community, for example, what are the state and local laws where the abuse occurred? Clearly not legal definitions, It is actually impossible legally, for any child has the right to consent to an adult for sexual activities.
Legally, there are several varying degrees of sexual assault; first degree, which is sexual contact or intercourse with anyone younger than thirteen. Second degree is intercourse...