Sexual Abuse
Michael Stiefvater Sexual Abuse At one time I thought about how child sexual
abuse was growing concern in our society. Stories and interviews on TV and in
the paper would keep me aware, but I always thought about how it was always
happening to everyone else. One figure that lingered around in my mind was that
one in six children would be a victim of sexual abuse. Having six children of my
own I thought of these statistics. Knocking on wood so to speak, until it
happened in our family. Sexual abuse can destroy a family, especially when the
perpetrator is considered a member of the family. It is frustrating when someone
that is trusted betrays that trust. Family members become angry , divided and
deny that anything is wrong.
The effects on the victim is the toughest thing to
deal with. The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) defines child
abuse and neglect as at a minimum, any recent act or failure to act on the part
of a parent or caretaker, which results in death, serious physical or emotional
harm, sexual abuse or exploitation, or an act or failure to act which presents
an imminent risk of serious harm. Some states have exceptions, but the term
child refers to someone not yet 18. Then CAPTA defines sexual abuse as: the
employment, use, persuasion, inducement, enticement, or coercion of any child to
engage in, or assist any other person to engage in, any sexual explicit conduct
or simulation of such conduct for the purpose of producing a visual depiction of
such conduct; or the rape, and in cases of caretaker or inter-familial
relationships, statutory rape, molestation, prostitution, or any other form of
sexual exploitation of children, or incest with children.
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