Introduction
Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is a key social problem in our society that has led to many repercussions for survivors. Those survivors face many potentially harmful consequences as a result of their childhood abuse, both in their childhood years and into their adult life (Swogger et al. 2011; Reeve and Gool, 2013). The consequences vary depending on gender, the circumstances surrounding their abuse and the level of support and services available to survivors to combat potential harmful outcomes. The purpose of this report is to identify and discuss the potentially harmful consequences of CSA for survivors. This report will firstly discuss how gender plays a role in determining the potential consequences of CSA as well as identifying …show more content…
Due to the way female survivors predominately internalise their feelings they have a tendency to acknowledge their emotional pain sooner than males and thus, seek professional help at a faster rate. This has subsequently lead to women having a lower percentage of suicides and suicidal attempts than men (Sigurdardottir, Halldorsdottir and Bender 2014, 284). The higher rate of suicide and suicidal attempts by male survivors can be explained through their tendency to externalise their feelings. Males tend to fight against any emotions brought on by their CSA, leading them to ignore their emotional pain and avoiding professional help for longer periods of time. Sigurdardottir, Halldorsdottir and Bender’s (2014) research found males who are sexually abused as children are more likely to attempt suicide because they bottle up their emotions. This can be brought on by resentment and embarrassment from being abused and this leads them to slowly self-destruct to the point where suicide becomes an option. It is also theorised that the reason male CSA survivors do not seek help often is due to the social constraints and expectations put on men to appear strong and masculine as well as having their feelings in …show more content…
The study found that those abused by their father or fatherly figure (BF) showed the most extreme levels of behavioural problems, maladjustment, depression, PTSD symptoms, dissociation and trait anxiety compared to the other CSA survivors throughout the study (Trickett, Noll and Putnam 2011, 460). Those that reported abuse by a single perpetrator that was not their father (SP) were found to suffer low levels of trauma initially, but over the course of the study developed significantly high levels of trauma in the areas of chronic depression and dissociations (Trickett, Noll and Putnam 2011, 463). Whereas, those abused by multiple perpetrators (MP) unexpectedly showed fairly low levels of trauma consistently over the course of the study with no significant developments to
Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is a key social problem in our society that has led to many repercussions for survivors. Those survivors face many potentially harmful consequences as a result of their childhood abuse, both in their childhood years and into their adult life (Swogger et al. 2011; Reeve and Gool, 2013). The consequences vary depending on gender, the circumstances surrounding their abuse and the level of support and services available to survivors to combat potential harmful outcomes. The purpose of this report is to identify and discuss the potentially harmful consequences of CSA for survivors. This report will firstly discuss how gender plays a role in determining the potential consequences of CSA as well as identifying …show more content…
Due to the way female survivors predominately internalise their feelings they have a tendency to acknowledge their emotional pain sooner than males and thus, seek professional help at a faster rate. This has subsequently lead to women having a lower percentage of suicides and suicidal attempts than men (Sigurdardottir, Halldorsdottir and Bender 2014, 284). The higher rate of suicide and suicidal attempts by male survivors can be explained through their tendency to externalise their feelings. Males tend to fight against any emotions brought on by their CSA, leading them to ignore their emotional pain and avoiding professional help for longer periods of time. Sigurdardottir, Halldorsdottir and Bender’s (2014) research found males who are sexually abused as children are more likely to attempt suicide because they bottle up their emotions. This can be brought on by resentment and embarrassment from being abused and this leads them to slowly self-destruct to the point where suicide becomes an option. It is also theorised that the reason male CSA survivors do not seek help often is due to the social constraints and expectations put on men to appear strong and masculine as well as having their feelings in …show more content…
The study found that those abused by their father or fatherly figure (BF) showed the most extreme levels of behavioural problems, maladjustment, depression, PTSD symptoms, dissociation and trait anxiety compared to the other CSA survivors throughout the study (Trickett, Noll and Putnam 2011, 460). Those that reported abuse by a single perpetrator that was not their father (SP) were found to suffer low levels of trauma initially, but over the course of the study developed significantly high levels of trauma in the areas of chronic depression and dissociations (Trickett, Noll and Putnam 2011, 463). Whereas, those abused by multiple perpetrators (MP) unexpectedly showed fairly low levels of trauma consistently over the course of the study with no significant developments to