Child Abuse

One out of three girls and one out of six boys are sexually abused before the age of eight. Every child is vulnerable to abuse. Today, parents must face the possibility that someone may hurt or take advantage of their child. Research indicates that as many as one out of every four children will be the victims of some kind of abuse. Very young children as well as older teenagers are victimized. Someone they know and trust will abuse almost all of these children; primarily teenagers and adolescent girls are victims of sexual abuse. A lot of the times, the sexual abuse is from the actual stepparent of the child.

In this country the problem of child abuse if very serious. The abuser and the child may seem normal on the outside, but behind closed doors or when the abuser is alone with the child may be another story. Child abuse comes in two forms. One is verbal and the other is physical. Often verbal abuse gets the self-esteem of the child down while physical abuse could seriously injure the child. Many times the child will do nothing wrong. Sexual abuse is done to satisfy the abnormal sexual cravings one has. Some causes of child abuse are from the use of drugs, alcohol abuse, or the abuser was abused when they were younger. These causes start problems such as runaways who have no place to go. They could grow up to be bums or even worse. Another problem is that when the child grows up they could become the next generation of child abusers.

Child abuse can be prevented in a number of ways such as counseling for the adults as well as the children. Another way is for the school to educate the children about child abuse. Teachers should tell the children what to do in case of child abuse. The children should tell a person they trust and also speak forward when someone abuses them. In my opinion, sexual abusers find comfort in molestation and never feel the wrong until their secret gets out. Often it is not a planned or thought out process, sexual molestation can happen on impulse or even after a sexually explicit movie or magazine.

In conclusion, a child molester has to think of the possible damage that he or she can cause to a child. If one was molested as a child, counseling is one of the best means of resolution in order that the cycle does not continue.