Who Sexually Abuses Children?

By Dorothy M. Neddermeyer, PhD

Is your child prepared to deal with society's worst scourge-Sexual Abuse? Throughout the world thousands of children are sexually abused/assaulted by adults. To adequately prepare your child for life's cruel realitiy, you need to prepare him/her about sexual abuse prevention. How can children protect themselves?

If your child knows the rules of 'stranger danger' you have protected your child from a 1% chance of being sexually abused/assaulted. Thus, your child is vulnerable to the most likely sexual child abuse offender, family members or other trusted adults. 80% of children who are sexually abused are abused by family members, 19% are abused by someone the child knows and trusts. The other little known statistic is the frequency of sexual child abuse. David Finkelhor and Dianna Russell's research reveals 62% of girls and 31% of boys will be sexually abused by age 18. Unfortunately this statistic is considered low due to the difficulty in gathering data from surveys or reporting agencies.

The unbelievable truth about sex offenders is that they do not hold beliefs reflecting society's moral and ethical values. Most sex offenders go to great lengths to present themselves as exemplary people; the teacher, who frequently stays after school to help a child having academic difficulties or the gym teacher/coach, who takes special interest in a budding athlete.

I am not suggesting that everyone who does these things is a sexual abuse perpetrator. Insidiously, sex offenders demonstrate the right, moral, and exemplary behavior to develop credibility and establish proof of their love of children, thus thwarting any suspicion of wrong doing. Sex offenders frequently take jobs which afford easy access to children-child care workers, teachers, coaches, etc.

Failure by any knowing adult to protect children from physical or sexual abuse is considered a crime. The world was shocked when David Steinberg killed his "adopted" daughter in 1987. What was more shocking, was what happened to his common-law wife, Hedda Nusbaum. See Control and Co-Dependency in the Home. http://www.geocities.com/fcov.geo/home.html

If I'd Only Known...Sexual Abuse in our Out of the Family: A Guide to Prevention is the book every parent/caretaker needs to keep children safe. Seven compelling parent approved and child tested techniques to thwart would-be sex offenders. It has been endorsed by Interfaith Sexual Trauma Institute (ISTI) www.csbsju.edu/isti

Resource: Finklehor, David, Child Sexual Abuse: New Theory and Research (Free Press, New York, NY, 1984), Russell, Diana, The Secret Trauma: Incest in the Lives of Women and Girls (Basic Books: New York, NY. 1986)

Dorothy M. Neddermeyer, PhD, author, "If I'd Only Known...Sexual Abuse in or Out of the Family: A Guide to Prevention, specializes in: Mind, Body, Spirit healing and Physical/Sexual Abuse Prevention and Recovery. As an inspirational leader, Dr. Neddermeyer empowers people to view life's challenges as an opportunity for Personal/Professional Growth and Spiritual Awakening. http://www.drdorothy.net

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