Detecting Child Sexual Abuse

Hi I'm Rita Peters assistant state attorney in chief of the sexual crimes and child abuse division for Hillsborough County Florida Child abuse is a widespread problem in the United States. According to the national committee for prevention of child abuse more than three million children are abused each year of this number eight percent are sexually abused. The signs and symptoms of child sexual abuse must be carefully identified in order to help prevent future cases. In this training you will be informed on child sexual abuse statistics who commits these crimes. Signs of sexual abuse and we as youth serving organizations can do to keep children safe. According to federal statistics one in three girls will be sexually abused before the age of 18 over 30 percent of victims never report the abuse to anyone. Most of these children will carry the emotional scars and guilt of abuse for the rest of their lives. Many victims of child sexual abuse will sexually abuse others as adults. In most cases sexual abuse is committed by people the child already knows.

Child sexual abuse is usually committed by friends adults who serve as caregivers family members although sometimes the abuse is perpetrated by complete strangers. In cases involving adults known to the child the abuse usually begins gradually and increases over time. Because of that physical findings are often absent. Typically it is difficult for a child of any age to reveal that they have been abused by a family member family friend or other known person. The child often does not want to get the adult in trouble. Frequently the abuse has been done in a way that does not cause any pain or injury. And in fact the child may have experienced unpleasant physical sensations. This can lead to their feeling that they have participated or allowed the abuse and therefore are not victims abusers often referred to the activity as a secret that only the two of them can share. It is not uncommon for them to show other appropriate extra attention and interest in this child. This process of reframing the sexual abuse is a shared secret with an adult

who is otherwise attentive and kind to the child as to the child's inability to reveal what is going on. In some cases young victims are concerned that if they reveal they've been abused that their family may be at risk as perpetrators often use this threat to silence their victims. There is no one symptom of behavior that definitely indicates that a child has been sexually abused. There are however signs and symptoms that may indicate abuse. So it is very important to look for any of these signs and to try to find out more information if there is anything that could indicate abuse often abuse is not reported as people are afraid to report if they are not sure. However in order to protect our children we all have to be very vigilant and not be afraid to get help and let the authorities determine if abuse is indeed occurring. The following signs may signal the presence of child abuse or neglect the child might show sudden changes in behavior or school performance.

They have not received help for physical or medical problems brought to the parents attention. They have learning problems or difficulty concentrating. That can't be attributed to specific physical or psychological causes. There are always watch fools if they're preparing for something bad to happen. They lack adult supervision. They're overly compliant passive or withdrawn. They come to school or activities early stay late and do not want to go home. Medical science to look out for in a child are physical health problems such as headaches stomach aches or other vague complaints of pain that don't seem to be easily explained by medical problems. This is a very common way for the body to express psychological distress and it presents as a real pain event sexual knowledge or seductive behavior towards adults or peers is another warning sign. It is easy to blame young people for their sexual behavior but many of these young people have suffered from abuse and learned from it. In fact one study demonstrated that two thirds of pregnant and parenting

teens have been sexually abused by the age of 12. It is very important to determine why they are behaving in this way and try to help them. Additional things to look out for are signs of depression such as depressed mood irritability and cutting behaviors. Eating disorders including anorexia and bulimia can be related to a child experiencing sexual abuse signs of eating disorders can include being very underweight although being normal or overweight is possible to. Not having menstrual periods and having abnormal eating patterns including not eating or eating very little or in the case of Billina sometimes eating quite a lot and going to the bathroom immediately afterward to throw up. Signs of physical abuse may also be present including unusual or unexplained bruises and broken bones. There are warning signs to look out for and parents as well. They might show a little concern for the child. They might deny the existence of or blame the child for the child's problems in school or at home. They might ask teachers or other caretakers to use harsh physical discipline if the child

misbehaves. Abusive parents might see their child as entirely bad worthless or burdensome and demand a level of physical or academic performance the child cannot achieve. They might also look primarily to the child for care or attention and satisfaction of emotional means. In the abusive environment of the parent and child might rarely touch or look at each other they might consider their relationship as entirely negative and they might state that they do not like each other. Child sexual abuse affects children and families immediately. Some of the consequences last a lifetime and have a negative impact not only on the victim but on society. Common consequences include health and behavioral problems drug and or alcohol problems teenage pregnancy promiscuity and crime. Some perpetrators will molest more than one child if they are not reported and stopped. Again it's up to us as teachers.

Girl Scout leaders fellow parents volunteers and the general community to stop this epidemic. So say you have a child that's in your care and you suspect they might be a victim of abuse you've gone through the checklist of possible child abuse symptoms and many symptoms are true for the child. What is your responsibility then. All states in the US have mandatory reporting laws. They do vary slightly from state to state but many people are mandated reporters mandatory reporters include physicians osteopaths medical examiners chiropractors nurses or hospital personnel. Other health or mental health professionals. Practitioners who relies soley on spiritual means for healing school teachers or other school officials or personal social workers day care center workers or other professional childcare foster care residential or institutional workers law enforcement officers or judges. How to report sexual abuse

will depend on your situation. If you are in a school setting the school guidance counselor might be a helpful way to start in a community setting. You could contact your child protection team to discuss your concerns and get guidance from trained professionals on how to report abuse. Here's the local child abuse hotline for your area. It's not your duty to prove that abuse occurred. A report is required when a person knows or has reasonable cause to suspect that a child is abused abandoned or neglected. It's helpful to gather as much information as possible but don't delay reporting because of this. Professionals who are mandated reporters are required to provide their names to hotline staff. Your name will be entered into the record of the report but is held confidential your name cannot be released to any person other than employees of the department responsible for child protective team or the appropriate state attorney without your written consent. This does not prohibit you from being subpoenaed if you file the report of child abuse abandonment or neglect by the court.

The state attorney or the department if it's deemed necessary. Multiple resources exist related to sexual abuse. A listing of local resources is being provided to accompany the. National resources include the following and are listed in your local resources guide. The child welfare information Gateway National Child Advocacy Center and the American professional society on abuse of children. You might be the only person that child can depend on for help. Don't let them down. Use your resources and stand up against sexual abuse.