What is Child Sexual Abuse

Child sexual abuse includes touching and non-touching activity

Some examples of touching activity include:

touching a child's genitals or private parts for sexual pleasure
making a child touch someone else's genitals, play sexual games or have sex putting objects or body parts (like fingers, tongue or penis) inside the vagina, in the mouth or in the anus of a child for sexual pleasure.

Some examples of non-touching activity include:

showing pornography to a child
deliberately exposing an adult's genitals to a child
photographing a child in sexual poses
encouraging a child to watch or hear sexual acts
inappropriately watching a child undress or use the bathroom.

What is the impact of child sexual abuse?

The impact of sexual abuse varies from child to child. For many, the damage is enormous, with the impact still being felt into adulthood, affecting all aspects of their life.

How do people commit child sexual abuse?

By getting close to children:
By offering support and other responsibilities.
By offering them gifts or treats,

Why don’t children tell?
Three quarters of children who are abused do not tell anyone about it and many keep their secret all their lives.

“it was nobody else’s business”
“didn’t think it was serious or wrong”
“didn’t want parents to find out”
“didn’t want friends to find out”
“was frightened”
“didn’t think would be believed”
“had been threatened by abuser”

What are the signs that a child is being abused?

Children often show us rather than tell us that something is upsetting them. There may be many reasons for changes in their behaviour, but if we notice a combination of worrying signs it may be time to call for help or advice.

What to watch out for in children:

Acting out in an inappropriate sexual way with toys or objects.
Nightmares, sleeping problems.
Becoming withdrawn or very clingy.
Personality changes, seeming insecure.
Unaccountable fear of particular places or people.
Outburst of anger.
Changes in eating habits.
Physical signs, such as, unexplained soreness or bruises around genitals, sexually-transmitted diseases.
Becoming secretive.

What are the signs that an adult may be using their relationship with a child for sexual reasons?

Signs that an adult is using their relationship with a child for sexual reasons may not be obvious. We may feel uncomfortable about the way they play with the child, or seem always to be favouring them and creating reasons for them to be alone. There may be cause for concern about the behaviour of an adult or young person if they:

Buy children expensive gifts or give them money for no apparent reason.
Treat a particular child as a favourite, making them feel 'special' compared with others in the family.
Pick on a particular child.

To be continue.