Sexual Abuse

Posted on 1 October, 2021 by Tautoko Mai

Sexual abuse can be many things that are not merely penetration such as sexual discrimination, marriage rape, sexual favors, unwanted touch, unintentional touch, sexual comments, etc. The important thing to remember is that most often sexual abuse involves some form of power over the victim. Sexual abuse happens because the offender has power over the victim. This power can be monetary, legal, emotional, etc. Sexual abuse also involves some form of deception and breaking of trust. Rape Victim Support 

Sexual abuse is very common and is experienced by 1 out of 3 women. Although sexual abuse is common, most of it is not reported (less than 10%) to the legal authorities and if reported, most are unsubstantiated. The lack of reporting is most likely due to the fact that most sexual abuse acts go unpunished and because the laws do not protect the victim. Most of the time, victims have to prove that they have been abused and are often considered to be "making stories up". This is especially the case when it comes to perpetrators that do not fit the stereotype of "creepy outlaws." In the case of child abuse, the majority of the perpetrators are people whom the victim knows and trusts. How to Help Rape Victim

The Psychoanalysts believe sexual abuse happens because children want to have sex with their parents. Some of the myths behind this explanation are that women cry about rape, children lie about incest, children are sexually provocative, incest is not harmful, and mothers collude with the perpetrator. abused sexual whakatane

The Victim Precipitation Approach states that women ask for it. Myths for this approach include that only young, stereotypically attractive women are raped, and that women can avoid being raped by not walking on the streets, choosing different clothing, etc. Others believe, that sexual abuse is a family dysfunction; that it only occurs because a family is dysfunctional. This is yet another myth. Finally, the psychological approach believes that men who abuse cannot control their sexual urges. This is also a myth or a belief that can be contested. The truth is that sexual abuse occurs when there is a great difference in power, where the perpetrator has more power than the victim. This power may be physical, monetary, social, legal, etc. It is believed by others that the abuse occurs because we are socialized into particular ways to be a man, where male dominance and parent dominance reign; that our system is set up to support and encourage this domination and rarely is truly complicit with the victim. sexually assaulted whakatane

What happens after sexual abuse depends on many things. Some of the things it depends on are the length of the abuse, the intensity and frequency of abuse, and the use of force. However, the major determinant for the severity in the consequences to sexual abuse are how those who are close to the victim respond to the disclosure. If family and friends do not believe that the abuse occurred, as is frequent, the victim will fare worse. There are things that will help to overcome sexual abuse, aside from support from family and friends, such as the resiliency of the individual, the age of the victim, the perpetrator's confession of the abuse, a mentor or supportive environment.