Dealing with Sexual Abuse Issues

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According to the Incest Survivors Resource Network, sexual abuse is defined as the physical or emotional erotic use of a person, even if no bodily contact is ever made. Having no bodily contact includes showing the child pornography, intercourse, or deviant sexual acts. Sexual abuse is usually done within the family. The common abusers are fathers, stepfathers, uncles, mothers, brothers and sisters. The abuse can carry on between family members and even pass on from generation to generation.

Research has shown that pedophiles usually stop abusing children once they develop characteristics of adulthood but in other homes, it can go on for years.

Sexual abuse is a serious and traumatic issue to deal with. Most of the children who deal with sexual abuse are between the ages of seven and 18. Apart from trauma, sexual abuse has a number of serious effects, such as drug abuse, likelihood of depression, and lower IQ. There is also a high probability that sexually abused children will refuse to follow teachers and have an angry disposition. As these children grow older, they may develop antisocial behavior, post-traumatic stress disorder, low self-esteem, eating disorders, and anxiety.

Amnesia or traumatic dissociation is a common response to sexual abuse. The tendency is to block out the memory of abuse and separate it from their other memories. Children do this to protect themselves from the trauma of the experience. Depression, anger, and antisocial behavior arise from the traumatic dissociation. The child has to confront the memory in order to know the reason for their depression and anger.

Types of Therapy

People undergo different kinds of therapy to deal with the trauma of sexual abuse. They can go through group and family therapy, as well as individual therapy. Children’s therapy often involves the parents as they need figures to guide them through their experience. Teenagers can go through more individual therapy and find support through group therapy.

Adults who have gone through sexual abuse usually get treatment for other mental disorders, such as depression and eating disorders. The treatment will depend on the person’s mental disorder and how the abuse could have caused it. EMDR has also been found to be very effective for working with sexual abuse survivors.

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