Trigger warning: this article discusses sexual abuse and may be very triggering.
Of the many horrifying violations that children face, sexual abuse is a whole new level added to the list. When children get sexually abused, they tend to get physically and emotionally damaged. While physical, verbal, and sexual abuse are all, more or less, interlinked, they have different definitions and different effects on a child being subjected to one or more type of abuse. By interlinked, I mean that a child getting sexually abused could also be subjected to verbal abuse, or even physical abuse, by the perpetrator.
What is Child Sexual Abuse?
Child Sexual Abuse is defined as a sexual act that a perpetrator inflicts onto a child from age 0-18 years. The acts could be physical – which includes molestation, kissing, groping or even rape – or visual – like exposing genitals to children and showing pornographic films to them. In addition, they could be verbal acts – through which a child is spoken to with sexual and dirty connotations – and exploitative – like taking pictures or videos of a child in a sexual manner or subjecting them to prostitution or trafficking.
In the MENA region, a child being sexually abused is a taboo – something that is inconceivable and not believed by parents even. Many are ignorant to the fact that their child could be sexually abused anywhere, whether it is in a market or in their very own home. It is possible that they just refuse to associate this horrifying thing to their child. They refuse to think that a stranger or even a family member can be a perpetrator and subject their child to sexual abuse. Unfortunately, though, child sexual abuse is more common than we think. What is terrifying is that the perpetrators, majority of the time, are someone the child knows and trusts.
What is even worse is that many children at a young age do not even understand what is happening to them due to a lack of sexual education, especially in the MENA region. Children are not taught anything about their genitals, their privacy, what is not allowed to be touched, and other bodily related affairs. This, in turn, plays a role in the confusion they experience when being sexually abused at a very young age and their inability to speak of it.
Effects of Child Sexual Abuse
The effects of the sexual abuse of children, and even adults when they grow up, is quite frankly catastrophic. Child sexual abuse is related to functional issues and disabilities, increased physical symptoms, medical diagnoses, as well as increased hospital visits due to certain physical issues like headaches, abdominal pain, gynecologic and pelvic disorders, and panic-related physical symptoms. These issues occur in the long run, a long time after traumas had been experienced, and that is why there is not a clear association.
Various studies also link sexual abuse of children with the development of psychiatric disorders. Girls who have been abused (in comparison with those who were not) have an increased possibility in developing depression, anxiety, a negative self-image, suicidal and damaging tendencies, eating disorders, increased drinking, and the engagement of sexual activities from an early age.
The disorders which also stem in the long run due to sexual abuse include:
- PTSD: When you have intrusive flashbacks, thoughts, and sudden unwanted memories about the abuse.
- Cognitive disorders: These include having low self-esteem, distrust, and being afraid of the world – developing feelings of helplessness and feeling powerless.
- Emotional distress: These include depression, fear, anxiety, phobias, OCD, and anger.
- Impaired sense of self: This means that you find it hard to set boundaries and protect yourself.
- Avoidance: This is when you space out and daydream excessively, dissociating from your trauma and even having amnesia regarding it.
- Interpersonal hardships: You find it hard to reveal things about yourself and to show warmth in intimate relationships. Intimacy dysfunction/disorder is also an issue that comes up as a result of abuse.
- Health (physical) problems like brain structure changes, immune system deficiencies, feeling fatigue numerous times, gynecological issues, excessive headaches, and excess drug/alcohol use.
To the adults who have been abused as children and have stayed silent, you are not alone. Therapy is necessary when being subjected to horrifying traumatic circumstances, so I urge everyone who went through sexual abuse as a child – that has either repressed their memories or buried them for whatever reason – to seek help.