Signs of childhood sexual trauma
Victim-survivors of child sexual abuse can be impacted in a wide range of ways by the abuse, but the nature and extent of impact varies from one individual to the next. Why do the impacts of child sexual abuse differ?
The CSA Centre’s analysis of a number of surveys suggests that at least 15% of girls and 5% of boys are sexually abused before the age of 16. Many people live with the impacts of being sexually abused in childhood. Technology-assisted abuse has many of the same impacts as offline abuse, although children sexually abused online are particularly unlikely to disclose it. Child sexual exploitation is a form of child sexual abuse. Both children and adults can sexually abuse children, and the abuse can take place in both intra- and extra-familial contexts. The UK Government’s statutory definition of child sexual abuse acknowledges that sexual abuse can occur across a range of forms and contexts. The term ‘children’ in this paper refers to individuals under 18 years of age. It sets out what is known about impact across all forms of child sexual abuse, unless a particular form and/or context for sexual abuse is stated. This paper brings together learning from existing research on the impacts of child sexual abuse. Consequently, professionals can play a key role in mitigating the impact of child sexual abuse for both children and adults Alongside secure attachment to non-abusing caregivers, social support and supportive responses following discovery/disclosure (including in adulthood) are the most important factors associated with improved emotional and behavioural outcomes. A lot can be done to improve long-term outcomes for victim-survivors. The financial and non-financial costs of contact child sexual abuse are estimated to run into billions of pounds. There can be impacts beyond the child, especially on non-abusing parents, as well as on wider society. It is therefore important to centre an understanding of intersectionality when thinking about the impacts of child sexual abuse. Impact may also be affected by the victim-survivor’s sex, culture, ethnicity, disability status, sexual orientation and gender identity. While there is evidence of protective parenting practices by victim-survivors in adulthood, there may also be adverse parenting impacts including difficulties with creating and maintaining boundaries.įactors influencing impact include the child’s age when the abuse occurred, their relationship to the person who harmed, the duration of the abuse, other childhood experiences (including other forms of child abuse), attachment to non-abusing parents or carers, whether or not the abuse is discovered/disclosed, and responses to its discovery/disclosure (both in childhood and adulthood). Sexual abuse can affect children’s psychosexual and psychosocial development and attachment, with impacts on sexual functioning as well as relationships in both adolescence and adulthood. General health, gastrointestinal health, gynaecological or reproductive health, pain (including in the immediate term from injuries or longer-term chronic conditions), cardiopulmonary health and body mass index may all be impacted. Long-term clinical psychiatric diagnoses associated with child sexual abuse include post-traumatic stress disorder and personality disorders.Ĭhild sexual abuse is associated with adverse physical health conditions in childhood and adulthood, some of which may be interconnected with the mental health impacts of abuse. We know from research that many victim-survivors report adverse impacts on their mental health and wellbeing, including anxiety disorders, depression, eating disorders and disturbances, sleep disruption and insomnia, and dissociation. This means that victim-survivors themselves are the best experts on how they have been and are being affected, and any attempt to understand the impact on an individual should begin with them. Victim-survivors of child sexual abuse can be affected in a wide range of ways, but the nature and extent of the impacts experienced vary: no two people are affected in exactly the same way.