Child abuse is an umbrella term used to refer to

- Physical abuse
- Emotional abuse
- Sexual abuse
- Child neglect

Although all these types of abuses result in more or less the same ill consequences, but the severity levels might differ for each kind of abuse. The crimes are not restricted to any particular country, community or culture as such. Victims of child abuse rarely come out openly and therefore there is a huge possibility of an enormous number of such cases not being reported across the world. In most of the cases the culprit is a close one from the family.

Lets now learn more about the subject by focusing on child sexual abuse. It refers to any kind of sexual alliance, gesture or pornographic viewing, with or without the consent of the child. Kissing, fondling, touching a child's genitals, forced undressing, viewing pornography, producing pornography or penetrative sexual activity, oral sex or any kind of sexual stimulation involving a child under the adult age qualifies as child sexual abuse.

Consequences

The consequences of sexual abuse are grave. A victim of child sexual abuse might suffer from/develop a low self esteem, dissociative thoughts, abstinence from romantic and sexual relationships, abnormal fears and phobias, behavioral disorders like an introverted or overly arrogant personality, unhealthy personal and social life or in rare cases, an acrid feeling of revenge towards the abuse offender. Attachment of shame with sexual abuse matters further aggravates the trauma of the victim.

The victim, when grown up, may have problems trusting people in general and troubles mixing with the other sex on a sexual level. Other psychological disorders can be depression, part amnesia or a feeling of grudge and hatred towards a particular gender, profession or clergy to which the abuser might have belonged.

Apart from psychological and social damages, there is also physical harm that a child sexual abuse victim may commonly suffer. Pubic pain, wounds, bleeding and infections may be seen in cases of forced sexual contact with the child. The probability of catching sexual infections and STDs also quite high.

In most of the cases the offenders are known to the victims. They may be a part of the instant or distant family, or a close family friend. Due to close relation with the culprit, most of the victims do not feel confident about telling their parents or anyone trusted about the incidents of sexual abuse.

It's important for parents or caretakers to look for sexual abuse signs and symptoms. Not just your kids look for any warning signs indicating sexual abuse wherever you sense something wrong with a child. It's not just our responsibility but also the key to a healthier, abuse free environment for our future generations.