| NAASCA Posters / Essays Celebrating April as National Child Abuse Awareness Month | |
| Child Abuse lives everywhere -- don't be afraid to talk about it | 12 of 30 .. |
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Child Abuse lives .. ...... in every community ...... most kids will never tell Some studies say an estimated 850,000 new cases of childhood sexual assault occur each year. Others refute this figure, noting reports of child abuse are among the least likely criminal reports made. Then, too, these numbers for sexual abuse and don't include trauma that's caused by physical violence that has no sexual element, severe emotional or mental traumas that can be devastating in later life, or neglect (the largest category). Sadly the vast majority of kids are, for a number of reasons, unlikely to speak up about their abuse. One study said as many as 9 out of 10 children turn 18 without telling. These children emerge into adulthood with the secret case of their untreated trauma as the weighty burden of their young lives. So .. why don't kids tell .. ? From a child's perspective their experiences may seem inescapable. Others are told by their predator that revealing the secret will have serious consequences. Kids are threatened by the death of a sibling, a pet or a parent, and are told no one will believe them anyway. Children are told they are to blame and take on a sense of responsibility and shame that extends well into adult life. They figure they could somehow have avoided the predator. Many have a sense of being broken, and fear being discovered by a judgmental society. The truth is that children are NEVER to blame for these things. It's always the adult who bears all the responsibility, and their acts are always criminal. 42 million American adults suffered childhood sexual abuse. Our society must do all we can to reduce the incidence of child abuse to today's at-risk group of kids. And we must offer as many healing opportunities as we can to the adult survivors of child abuse who are still keeping their secrets. Please see: Reactions of Adult Survivors of Childhood Sexual Assault - article from RAINN |
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