Sexual abuse within the family

Today child sexual abuse is becoming a scourge, with the consequences that this entails for the victims. Approximately 25% of girls suffer some type of abuse or sexual assault before reaching adulthood, and in boys the statistic is approximately 16%. They are very high values ​​that society often does not want to see or it is difficult for them to digest. Even so, both in books, as in movies and series, they are very covered topics and I think that little by little there is beginning to be an awareness of all this.

But what is more difficult to accept is that the vast majority of these sexual abuses occur within the victim's family, which makes the trauma even more painful and difficult to overcome.

• You may be interested: "The 4 differences between abuse and mistreatment"

Sexual abuse within the family

On many occasions, the people who abuse the minor are a father, a grandfather, an uncle, a cousin, a friend of the family, people from then close to the child, who earn the trust of the minor sometimes for years, and then use him to manipulate him by treating him like a object.

The psychological damage suffered by the victim of sexual abuse by a relative is tremendous, because not only does it have the consequences suffered by victims of abuse by strangers, but also further her trust is totally betrayed. Not only is there the misunderstanding of what happened, social isolation, feeling stigmatized or marked, but It also creates the feeling that no one can be trusted and that no one will be able to offer their help in a way authentic.

Furthermore, sexual abuse within the family does not usually occur through a single isolated event that does not reoccur, but rather becomes a lifestyle that children can suffer for years, with the incongruity that the person who abuses may be the only one who basically pays attention to the victim in her home, or is the same person who at the same time takes care of her when she is sick, feeds her, feeds her and continuously tells her how much she is she wants.

• Related article: "Prevent and detect child sexual abuse early"

The psychological consequences

These are some of consequences of sexual abuse:

• Concentration problems.
• Problems integrating into the peer group.
• Night terrors and fears in general.
• Serious self-esteem problems.
• Depersonalization.
• Anxiety attacks.
• Depression.
• Sexual problems
• Healthy bonding problems with other people.
• Eating disorders and problems in the perception of body image and rejection of the body.
• Addictive disorders: alcohol and drug use, gambling, kleptomania.
• Self harm.
• Suicide attempts.
• Impulse control problems.
• Possible development of personality disorders, BPD type, avoidance disorder, emotional dependence disorder ...
• Serious difficulties in personal self-care.
• Relationship problems.
• Irritability.
• Sleep problems and strong nightmares.
• Difficulty setting limits to others.
• Great social isolation.

Sequelae in adulthood

Actually I have only put some of the repercussions that sexual abuse can have in childhood and more when these have been committed by a family member, obviously the closer that family member is the much worse. That does not mean that all victims have these symptoms., but surely if a victim is reading this article, she may be identified by several of these points.

In addition, the fact that this symptomatology begins during the abuse processes does not mean that it stops when the abuse has disappeared, not even when the person reaches adulthood. In fact, it gives rise to creeping problems, which generally get worse over time and create new traumas that the person accumulates.

Even so, all this can be treated, but you have to face the problem, see that the symptoms may be due to this and not to other causes that seem more superficial. Of course, it is everyone's job to help, denounce, and help heal people who in their own home have had to live in fear.