Impact Of Child Sexual Abuse Survivers
The signs of sexual abuse in children manifest in enormously different ways. At this tender age, children are seldom in a position to clearly explain their trauma. However, the impact on their psyche and personality is rather profound. |
One of the most potent variants of the impact of child sexual abuse evident in the survivors is referred to as post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which in turn can be bifurcated into 3 categories -- re-enactment of the event, avoidance or withdrawal, and physiological hyperactivity. Depending on the individual, the survivor may suffer from either one or even all of the categories. The memory of the abuse haunts them at every moment of their lives and the misery is apparent in forms such as appetite problems, inclination towards hurting oneself, problems related to sexual intimacy and low self esteem. A large proportion of survivors end up getting deeply affected by the sexual implication of the abuse. Their attitude reflects more sexuality and they also show signs of aversion towards their own body.
Once a child is subjected to sexual abuse, the violation may render the child more susceptible to the same. The sufferer is often unequipped when it comes to further self defense. More often than not, the abuser is a close associate, which makes the survivor wary of trusting people again in life.
On the emotional front, the child sexual abuse survivor has to deal with feeling of strong negativity towards oneself. The shame and embarrassment makes the abused develop self hatred. Also, many a times, in cases of incest, the other family members, in state of denial, blame the abused for the entire episode. These factors lead to further low self esteem and feeling of remorse and impurity towards oneself.
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