Child Sexual Abuse (CSA)

Sexual abuse can affect every aspect of a child’s development and individuals are affected differently and to varying degrees.

Some key influences on potential impact are:

• The nature of the abuse - Penetrative abuse is found to be more damaging to longer term mental health than non-penetrative abuse
• Whether the abuse is chronic.
• The relationship between child and perpetrator.
• The support within the family and wider support networks (particularly whether they are believed).

The trauma of child sexual abuse can cause feelings of powerlessness, shame and self-blame, betrayal, and confusion. Adverse outcomes across the course of life can include:

• Poor mental health and wellbeing
• Physical health problems including immediate impacts and long term illness and disability
• Externalising behaviours such as substance misuse, ‘risky’ sexual behaviours, and offending
• Difficulties in interpersonal relationships
• Socio-economic impacts including lower levels of education and income
• Vulnerability to re-victimisation both as children and adults

Particular issues for boys can include a belief they are not allowed to be victims, belief they should have been able to fight off their abuse and confusion whether they should have enjoyed it or around their sexual identity.

Despite its prevalence in all communities, sexual abuse of children from a range of different groups is less likely to be identified. The CSA Centre has conducted research into the particular impact on ethnic minority communities and how to improve responses to sexual abuse of children from under-represented groups.

Abuse will also have an adverse impact on the family, including feelings of blame, torn loyalties, guilt, distress, anger, and jealousy. It is important to support the wider family in these events. The CSA Centre’s ‘Supporting Parents and Carers’ guide is designed to help professionals understand more about how child sexual abuse affects parents and their children, so that they can support them effectively.

The Parents Protect website also provides information, safety plans and advice to parents.

Mosac helps all non abusing parents and carers whose children have been sexually abused.