The World Health Organization defines child abuse as "All behavior, knowingly or unknowingly, by an adult, society or state, that negatively affects the child's health, physical and psychosocial development, is child maltreatment." defines it as . Child abuse has many dimensions: physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse and neglect. Sexual abuse is the most difficult to detect among the types of child abuse. Reported rates of the prevalence of sexual abuse vary widely. The actual prevalence is thought to be 12-17% for women and 5-8% for men.
Sexual abuse is when a person is subjected to a sexual act against his or her will. Sexual abuse, which affects the psychological, social and cognitive development of children, is a universal problem that can occur at all ages, at all socioeconomic levels, in all regions and in all ethnic groups and cultures.
According to the 2015 data of the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK), child victims of crime are It is reported that the number of crimes exceeds 122 thousand per year, and 10% of these are sexual crimes. According to 2015 data of the Ministry of Justice, it is stated that an average of 8 thousand children are sexually abused annually. In Turkey, 9% of women were exposed to sexual abuse before the age of 15. Childhood sexual abuse is three times more common in urban areas than in rural areas. 96% of abusers are men and 80% are someone the child knows. 19% of women who married before the age of 18 and 10% of women who married after the age of 18 were exposed to sexual violence. 70% of sexual abuse occurs in children between the ages of 2-10.
The following pathologies are generally found in families where sexual abuse is common. Divorce, violence, alcohol and substance use, sexual problems, social isolation, dominant and unconditional promise keeping parental model, role conflict.
Anxiety disorders, sleep disorders, nightmares, phobias, short-term symptoms in children who have been sexually abused. Physical complaints and fear reactions may be observed. Attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder and secondary enuresis occur more frequently. A high rate of depression is observed and the self-esteem of the abused person is seriously damaged. Suicidal thoughts and entry ms can be seen frequently. The ability to establish interpersonal relationships and maintain social relationships may be negatively affected. It is reported that children with a history of sexual abuse are more likely to commit sexual assault.
Child and adolescent sexual abuse can lead to various problems in later life. It has been shown that being sexually abused in childhood increases the frequency of smoking, alcohol and substance abuse, eating disorders, suicide attempts, major depression, anxiety disorders and other mental illnesses in adulthood. Additionally, borderline personality disorder in adulthood has been associated with a history of childhood sexual abuse. It is stated that children who are victims of sexual abuse also experience problems in their close relationships in adulthood.
It has been determined that fathers who are directly involved in the child's care commit less abuse. In addition, factors such as the child and young person having mental and physical disabilities or psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, impulse control disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder increase the risk of sexual abuse. In such cases, children may not be able to evaluate the badness of the situation they are exposed to.
Abuser characteristics:
If we look at the characteristics of the abusers, the abusers are usually men, % of the cases At 5-15, she is a woman. Abuse of women is usually directed at boys. More than 20% of abuses against men are women. Female criminals are usually single. According to non-clinical studies, extra-familial abuse by a familiar person or a stranger constitutes 30-50% of sexual contact cases between children and adults.
The main personality characteristics observed in the abuser are; It has been determined that he is an introverted personality with limited family and social communication, a personality that cannot establish a warm relationship with his wife or family, a psychosexual and socially immature personality, and a pedophilic personality that abuses other children along with his own children. Many abusers were either sexually abused in their childhood or there was violence in the family. Sexual abusers generally have low education and socioeconomic levels. The abusive individual He has little capacity to delay his vote and a low tolerance for frustration. Most of the time, he cannot make realistic approaches due to emotional developmental delay. Feelings of empathy are either absent or limited. He tends to suppress his low self-esteem and feelings of guilt and reflect them on the child in the form of aggressive behavior by creating an opposing reaction. He experiences anxiety due to unmet satisfaction and transfers this energy to his environment in the form of aggression. Other characteristics of the abusive individual include not having someone to identify with during childhood, having a pathological family structure in terms of social components, and being an individual lacking support systems.
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