Sexual abuse on children - Christina Cherry

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Sexual abuse on children .
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experts voice

Hedwig Wölfl

What is sexual violence against children?

Sexualized violence or sexual abuse describes verbal and physical attacks when the personal sexual integrity limits are exceeded. It ranges from sexualized jokes and innuendo, the compulsion to consume pornographic media to forced sexual acts on oneself or on the child’s body.

Sexual violence always means psychological violence and can never “accidentally” happen" happen. On the contrary, there is always a conscious exploitation of a position of power and a violent act. The adult lives out his / her own need for intimacy, closeness, power or control at the expense of the child or adolescent.

What are the consequences?

In principle, one can say that the more hopeless a child experiences the situation, the greater the risk of serious damage. The relationship between the perpetrator and the victim also plays a major role here, because the closer it is, the stronger the conflict of loyalty and usually the length of time the child is exposed to abuse.

Due to the additional pressure on secrecy and secrecy, which is usually exerted by the perpetrators, abused children and young people experience speechlessness, defenselessness and helplessness.

Most children and adolescents make several attempts to trust what they have experienced, but are often not taken seriously and are therefore discouraged. Sexually abused children need five to seven attempts to find someone who believes and helps them.

Even if children and adolescents rarely speak directly and openly about their experiences, they send signals to draw attention to their need. It is also a relief if they are credibly conveyed that they can trust each other.

The aftermath of sexual violence in childhood and youth can affect those affected for a lifetime without appropriate therapeutic support.

fears,
a feeling of deep humiliation,
the conviction of your own worthlessness,
Feelings of guilt and shame,
a disturbed sensation of the own body,
a strong insecurity of one’s own perception and feelings,
the impression of abandonment and the broken trust in oneself and the environment can vary from confusion and confusion to what is known as post-traumatic stress disorder .

To protect themselves and their tormentors, children (and later adults) often repress or relativise the experiences of violence – sometimes even so perfectly that they can no longer remember it.

Prevention against sexual violence

Prevention against sexual violence begins where children and adolescents know themselves and their bodies well and where they know their physical and mental limits well. Age-appropriate education and body work can be started at an early age, because as soon as a child can name his or her feelings or the genital organs, they are better able to articulate any abuse that has occurred.

In the so-called seven preventive messages, which the Möwe child protection centers developed especially for children, the difference between good and bad secrets is also explained, the right to say no is discussed and the person is asked to get help if something is perceived as stressful.