As we have seen when looking at boundaries, adolescence is a time of intense sexual change, and these normal changes become entangled with the impact of sexual abuse. Instead of being seen as normal, they are now infused with the shame that sexual abuse engenders in the adolescent. Emotional reactions
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the pain of cutting is easier to bear than childhood emotonal pain
One of Steven Levenkron’s storytellers told him that cutting was like medicine for her fears, because the psychological pain of the abuse is greater than the pain of the mutilation. Cutting also gives the victim control over who inflicts the pain, in contrast to the powerlessness experienced when being raped.
cutting to relieve emotional pain
The child seeks love and gets abuse. It needs love, and gets cruelty. The child’s psyche withers in the barrenness of rejection, as it carries the fear created by its powerlessness and inability to defend its boundaries. Sexual abuse can bring on eating disorders, depression, suicidal thoughts, as well as
child sexual abuse is generally perpetrated by men
Research indicates that child sexual abuse is mainly perpetrated by men. Neither can we assume that sexual abuse in lone parent families is committed by mothers. Children may be more at risk from visiting males in such family structures. Nevertheless, apart from rape, we now believe that female sexual abuse
Child sexual abuse within families
Sexual abuse within the family (incest) is a hidden sickness, facilitated by isolation and threats. Mic Hunter classifies incestuous fathers in several ways. The most common type of abuser is the one who is dependent on his family to satisfy his sexual and emotional needs. This type is over-controlling and
abuse in sport
On a global level, clerical sexual abuse was not reined in, and paedophile priests were shifted from parish to parish, allowing them to continue their abuse. Ireland has been in the spotlight for the last few years, and the torturous efforts to bring closure to this unspeakable saga have brought
institutional abuse
Putting children into prostitution is a particularly heinous form of abuse. The great majority of these children suffer sexual abuse at home, before being put on the street. Studies show that child prostitution is a serious problem in some countries. For example, in Canada it is estimated that up to
Child sexual abuse
Effects that are even more devastating arise from sexual abuse, a serious crime, and the most damaging of all abusive behaviours. Sexual abuse of children is particularly appalling. It is a silent, hidden crime that robs children of innocence, and is global and common. It exists among all social classes,
As parents we must communicate with kindness to enhance our children’s emotional development
How we communicate as parents is a fundamental formative factor in our children’s development, and is passed from generation to generation. If a child learns a negative form of communication, by which it was normal to insult, berate, condemn, and put down, then that child is likely to use this
Parental verbal abuse creates a feeling of worthlessness in children
Child abuse includes verbal abuse, and considering its potential destructiveness, I am surprised at how little is written about it. Writers in general consider it part of emotional abuse, but I believe that it deserves separate treatment. Joan Arehart-Treichel maintains that parental verbal abuse is extremely detrimental to children. We