Child Sexual Abuse In Society

Child abuse is looked down upon in our society. There are various forms of child abuse; however the most prominent form has been sexual child abuse. According to Finkelhor (1994) child sexual abuse requires two elements: the first is that sexual activities involving a child have to occur, and second, an abusive condition such as coercion or a large age gap between the participants, indicating lack of consensuality has to occur (p. 32). Since child sexual abuse is something that deviates away from the norm in most societies, it becomes labeled as a hidden offense, indicating less statistics and reports being made. This suggests that statistics are being found in the cases that have been disclosed to child protective services or to law enforcements.
In addition to unreported issues within society, eating disorders often receive less attention being aimed towards it. An eating disorder is an illness that causes serious disturbances to your everyday diet, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. There are …show more content…
Authors such as Thompson (1994) points out that “Nearly 8 million adults in the United States were sexually abused as children” (p. 46). In 1993, there were about 150,000 substantiated cases of child sexual abuse in the United States (Finkelhor, 1994). Being sexually abused can take a toll on someone’s life. Being sexually abuse can start from age 4 to age 17 or older and still have a negative impact on one’s life. The victims are usually girls, but boys too experience this trauma. Finkelhor (1994) points out “child sexual abuse is committed primarily by individuals known to the child” (p. 45). Finkelhor (1994) and Adams (2009) suggested that about 20% of females and about 5%-10% of males have experienced sexual child abuse. This indicates that we are aware of this crime happening and shows that these cases have been