From Debbie Zwanikken
Sexual assaults on the young
“On Being Human” is usually short stories on the lives of our youth struggling in our community. It is an attempt to rouse the feeling of empathy towards others and to offer care if you recognize it. During our lifetime, we will see situations and events occur and wonder at how it developed into the story that it is. Years later, with time, experience and wisdom, we will come to understand the phenomenon of cause and effect.
On the hunt for a story about teenage pregnancy, I got a tip on a young lady who had this experience and was willing to talk. Weeks later, I am sorry to say that this story will not be told today as it turned out she was raped; and though she spoke candidly with me, she was not ready to have her story outed in the public. The heinous experiences we live through at the hands of another human being can be so traumatizing that we are shocked into silence. To bring this closer to your awareness, I will outline some effects and causes that happen to children that get sexually assaulted. The internet has a wealth of information on this topic.
The goal of this article is to have sexual abuse of children recognized as a preventable public health problem; to have caring adults take responsibility to prevent and stop sexual abuse of children; to create effective programs based on these principles of preventive action in all school curriculum by making body awareness, puberty and teaching children proper boundaries in touching and being touched by others. Kudos to Girl Power and Straight Talk!
Things that go bump
Child sexual abuse can occur in a variety of settings, including home, school, work or any abandoned location the perpetrator deems fit. Most sexual abuse offenders are acquainted with their victims; many are relatives of the child, most often brothers, stepfathers, fathers, uncles or cousins; often they are acquaintances, such as “friends” of the family, babysitters or neighbours; strangers are the least likely offenders in the child sexual abuse cases. Most cases, it's someone you know. In the US, most child sexual abuse cases are committed by men; studies on female child molesters show that women commit 14-40% of offenses reported against boys and 6% of offenses reported against girls – (Children’s Assessment Center).
The report was done on adolescent health and sexuality reflecting the statistics of 2013 coming from the Department of Health on St. Maarten combining abuse, violence and sexual abuse in one grouping. Notice that the statistics for children were not available at this time.
- In St. Maarten a study was done on 11% (317) of the eligible population; some 2,950 adolescents between the ages of 13 and 19. Statistics of abuse and violence; the study uncovered substantial evidence of violence and abuse. This included sexual abuse in childhood. Participants were asked whether they had ever been sexually abused by a member of their family or another person. The prevalence of sexual abuse was 7.7% and was more than five times higher among females (12.6%) than males (2.4%). Personally, I feel that males take longer to come to terms with sexual abuse or rape and, therefore, will hesitate to report these crimes.
Additionally, of those who ever had sex ...
• 8.0% stated that they were forced or threatened into sex the first time (raped). A further 15.2% said that they were “sort of” forced or threatened.
• Around a third of females (35.1%) responded, “Yes” or “Sort of” to the question as to whether they had been forced or threatened into sexual intercourse the first time, as against around 1/10 of males (10.9%).
• 6.8% of the females and 15.5% of the males said they had first sex by the age of 10.
• 13.6% of the females and 34.5% of the males reported they had first sex by the age of 12.
Females were more likely to report sexual or a coercive first sexual encounter while males reported earlier first sexual experiences.
Participants were asked whether they had ever been physically abused by a family member or other adult, with physical abuse being defined as “when someone causes you to have a scar, black and blue marks, welts, bleeding or a broken bone.” According to this measure based on moderate to severe physical injury, 18.3% had been physically abused, with the prevalence being similar between males and females. I’ll add here that the criteria for physical abuse in the US are not lumped with sexual abuse, meaning that whether there is use of alcohol, drug abuse or poverty – clear risk factors for child abuse – these factors are not so clear in sexual molestations.
World Health Organisation (WHO) cares
The Health Department is aware of the problems of sexual abuse in our community. When that information is delegated to the necessary departments, when people feel safe to share their stories of sexual assaults and abuse and know that there is a system set in place that does not highlight their vulnerabilities but supports them on the journey to healing, we can then break the cycle of silence and promote accountability for these crimes.
Did you know?
Overall, when I spoke to people in general, many felt as if this was part of another world. I realize that this privilege blinds us to what is happening, but also weakens us because we are unconscious to signs in children. Your empathy and wisdom are key to helping prevent sexual crimes against children.
Children’s Assessment Center: The primary reason the public is not sufficiently aware of child sexual abuse as the problem is that 73% of child victims do not tell anyone about the abuse for at least a year; 45% of victims do not tell anyone for at least five years; some never disclose (Smith et al., 2000; Broman-Fulks et al., 2007
The rumours we hear or the strange behaviour we see in certain individuals, whether a coach, a school manager or a beloved family member, we must remember it is our duty to keep our society safe.
It’s a mental health thing
Sexual assault doesn't mean you will have a mental illness, but it is one of the risk factors. Depression, eating disorders, dissociative disorders and personality disorders including PTSD are some of the mental illnesses revealed with time.
