Sexual abuse within the family
Today, child sexual abuse is becoming a scourge, with the consequences this poses for the victims. Approximately 25% of girls suffer some type of abuse or sexual assault before reaching adulthood, and in children the statistic is approximately 16%. They are very high values that society often does not want to see or has trouble digesting. Still, both in books, as in movies and series are very discussed topics and I think that little by little there is beginning to be an awareness of all this.
But what is more difficult to accept is that The vast majority of these sexual abuse occur within the family of the victim , which makes the trauma even more painful and difficult to overcome.
- Maybe you're interested: "The 4 differences between abuse and abuse"
Sexual abuse within the family
In many occasions the people who abuse the child are a father, a grandfather, an uncle, a cousin, a friend of the family, people who are close to the child, who gain the child's trust sometimes for years, and then to use you to manipulate you by treating you like an object.
The psychological damage suffered by the victim of sexual abuse by a family member is tremendous, because it not only has the consequences suffered by victims of abuse by strangers, but also your confidence is totally betrayed . Not only is the lack of understanding of what happened, social isolation, feeling stigmatized or marked, but also creates the feeling that you can not trust anyone and that no one will be able to offer their help in an authentic way.
In addition, sexual abuse in the family does not usually occur through a single isolated event that does not happen again, but becomes a lifestyle that children can suffer for years, with the incongruity that the person who abuses may be the only one who basically listens to the victim in their home, or is the same person who at the same time takes care of her when she is ill, feeds her, feeds her and continuously tells her how much wants.
- Related article: "Prevent and detect early childhood sexual abuse"
The psychological consequences
These are some of consequences of sexual abuse :
- Concentration problems.
- Problems to integrate in the group of equals.
- Night terrors and fears in general.
- Serious problems of self-esteem.
- Depersonalization
- Anxiety attacks .
- Depression.
- Sexual problems
- Problems in healthy bonding with other people.
- Eating disorders and problems in the perception of body image and body rejection.
- Addictive disorders: alcohol and drug use, gambling, kleptomania.
- Self-injury
- Attempts to commit suicide .
- Problems with impulse control.
- Possible development of personality disorders, BPD type, avoidant disorder, emotional dependency disorder ...
- Serious difficulties in personal self-care.
- Problems in couple relationships .
- Irritability.
- Problems of conciliation of sleep and strong nightmares.
- Difficulty to set limits to others.
- Great social isolation.
Sequelae in adulthood
Actually I have put only some of the repercussions that can have sexual abuse in childhood and more when these have been committed by a family member, obviously the closer that member of the family is much worse. That does not mean that all victims have these symptoms , but surely if a victim is reading this article, it may be identified by several of these points.
In addition, the fact that this symptomatology begins during the processes of abuse, does not mean that it ceases when the abuse has disappeared, not even when the person reaches adulthood. In fact, it gives rise to problems that are dragging along, and that generally worsen over time and create new traumas that the person accumulates.
Even so, all this can be treated, but we must face the problem, see that the symptomatology may be due to this and not to other causes that seem more superficial. Of course, it is everyone's job to help, denounce, and help heal people who in their own home have had to live in fear.
