What is Child Sexual Abuse?

Child sexual abuse can be defined as any sexual activity that is imposed on a child by an adult or an adolescent. This also includes experiences of child to child, teen to child, teen to teen, if there is an age difference of four or more years.

The key word in this definition is imposed on a child. Children are taught almost from birth to trust adults. When an adult manipulates a child's thoughts or forces a child to do something that does inflict physical or emotional harm, they are imposing an experience that will have life long consequences.

Sexual abuse doesn't have to involve intercourse and in a high number of cases, it doesn't. It can range from viewing the genitals, to fondling and from oral or anal sex to sex with other objects.

Some sexual perpetrators are sexually stimulated by seeing children undressed or engaging in sexual games with adults or other children. Many of these offenders manipulate the child into oral sex or the actual act of intercourse. Others frequently find it amusing to show pornography or to "talk dirty" to them to demonstrate what they want the child to do or to justify their own behaviors. Traumatic damage can be done to a sensitive child just by making suggestive references or talking in a sexual way.

Sexual abuse can also take the form of child exploitation by photographing the child in a sexually provocative position, with the intent to either use the photos for their own sexual stimulation or to trade with one of the other millions of child molesters found surfing the Internet on any given day. Sexual abuse cannot be pinned down to a single act but includes a wide range of acts.

As a sexual abuse survivor myself, I find that many parents, law enforcement officers and child welfare workers don't really understand the fear, shame, intimidation and loss of dignity that is caused by being sexually violated. Many young people that have been abused suddenly find themselves confused about their sexuality, boundaries and sexual awareness. Children were not intended to have sexual experiences and have a hard time understanding how to cope when it does happen.

A child or teen that has been sexually abused will need patience, understanding, and support to deal with the trauma and will need it on some level throughout his or her life.

Here are some sex offender resources: National Alert Registry (NAR) was designed to bring sex offender information directly to the public. By conducting a ZIP Code search they will be able to notify you if a sexual offender has moved into your community as well as provide you with a complete profile of the sexual offender. Cyber Detective guides you through the process of finding information about nearly anyone. This incredible software resource will instantly guide you through the maze of over 800 million web pages and bring you to where you need to be to find what you're looking for, then walk you through the process of how to locate the information you're seeking.