A letter from our Board President
What is Child Sexual Abuse?
Common Questions about Child Sexual Abuse
Are You a Victim of Sexual Abuse?
What Is Child Sexual Abuse?
Child sexual abuse is sexual activity with a child by an adult, an adolescent, or an older child. When any adult engages in sexual activity with a child, that is child sexual abuse. It is a crime in all 50 states. When sexual activity involves another child or an adolescent, it is not always so clear. Some kinds of sexual behavior among children might be innocent explorations rather than abuse.
Sexual abuse occurs when a person forces a child to have any form of sexual conduct or makes a child perform sexual acts. Sexual abuse may involve:
- Touching private parts (clothed or unclothed)
- Forcing a child to view or touch another person's private parts
- Penetration (with penis, fingers or using an object)
- Voyeurism – watching a child bath, toilet or dress
- Making the child view, listen to, read or participate in pornography or any sexual act
These acts are abuse even when the offender says they were gentle and did not hurt the child.
Sexual abuse is also known as molestation and exploitation. Sexual molestation does not always mean sexual intercourse. Sometimes older children molest younger or smaller children. Sexual acts between children become molestation when one child uses coercion, force, or violence to get the other child to do the acts. Young molesters should be reported to the Department of Children and Families (DCF) so they may receive help
Sexual molestation is overwhelming to children, especially when an adult is involved. Most children are taught to trust adults. They tend to believe what adults tell them is true rather than to rely on their own feelings. This works against them in two ways. If the molester tells them that what is being done is “okay”, they might doubt their own feelings that it is not. If a parent’s initial reaction when they hear the child’s disclosure of abuse is, “This can’t be true!”, the child may wonder if his or her own feelings are mistaken.
Children almost never tell of abuse “to create problems.” More often, children fear that telling will make people angry with them
It is extremely difficult for any abuse victim to disclose the abuse.