Sexual Harassment on Children - Coursework Example

Sexual harassment on children Introduction Child sexual abuse is a form of abuse where an adult uses achild for sexual stimulation. Child abuse exists in various forms including pressurizing or asking a child to take part in sexual activities, indecent exposure with the intention of gratifying own sexual pleasures or to groom and use a child to produce pornography. Child abuse can take place in various settings, including school, home or work (as in the case where child labor is very common). According to UNICEF, child marriage is one of the common forms of child abuse and represents the most dominant form of sexual abuse especially among the girl child (Davis, 2011). Some of the effects of child abuse include anxiety, depression, post-traumatic disorder, physical injury and propensity to for further victimization during adulthood among other problems. Sexual abuse by one of the family members results to incest and leads to long-term and more serious psychological trauma, mostly as in the case of parental incest. According to a 2009 report done in 22 countries by Clinical Psychology Review, the global dominance of child abuse has been estimated at 19% for females and 8% for males. Going by the available data, Africa leads in cases of child abuse (34%), especially in South Africa, with Europe being the least with 9.2%. Men commit most of these child abuse cases and some of them who have abused sexually a prepubescent child are pedophiles. There is high possibility for a child who has been exposed to prolonged effects of sexual harassment to feel undignified, valueless and view sex as abnormal activity (Elizabeth, 2007). The child may later become withdrawn and mistrust the adults and may end up being suicidal. Psychological effects According to MacKinnon & Siegel, 2004, some of the psychological effects of child abuse include: Fear- the accused threatens the child to take an oath of not concealing any secrets concerning the harassment. This makes the child accept that if she exposes the secrets, something horrible will happen. More often than not, such victims bribe, threaten or coerce the innocent before sexually molesting them. A child, therefore, fears to reveal what happens because of repercussions and other consequences like punishment, blame, mistrust and eventually abandonment. Guilt and shame- the child knows that something is wrong but ends up blaming himself/herself not others. The offender mostly encourages the child to believe that the abuse was his/her fault and; as a result, becomes a person Powerlessness/helplessness-a child in this situation feels he/she have no control over his/her life or the body. A child feels he/she has no other choice in life Isolation-incest victims feel isolated from other children and becomes very secretive an isolating and, as a result, they start isolating themselves from non-offending parents, brothers and sisters Responsibility- the victims compels the child to carry the responsibility of concealing the abuse. On the other hand, the child believes that they are the one to keep the secrets and maintain family unity. Nonetheless, this is too burdensome for a child and it will tamper with normal growth and development. Betrayal- the adults are a source of protection to children. However, children feel betrayed if, those whom they know as their source of refuge turn against them. Children develop trust on the elderly, but if this is lost, they feel betrayed. Furthermore, parents who do not offer enough protection to their children, even if they are non-offenders are also betraying them. Anger-in most cases, children, direct their anger in various ways. Anger towards those whom they believed they have failed in protecting them Directing their anger towards perceived little things Direct their anger inwards showing their feeling of low self-esteem or value Flashbacks-this can be in the form of nightmares that happen especially when the child is awake. They are the re-experience of sexual abuse as it happened during that time. As a grown up, a survivor may experience the same fear that they felt as a child. Flashbacks can be caused by various things i.e. a phrase, a mannerism, a smell and other environmental factors that may have some significance Increases sadness-children may be grieved as a result of a sense of loss, especially if the perpetrator was trusted and loved by the child Physical effects of sexual harassment There are various body or physical effects resulting from sexual harassment of a child. The most dominant effect is the body injuries sustained during the harassment. A child may be injured since the perpetrator uses a lot of force to gratify his/her needs. Some may have injured hands or legs as they try to escape from the act. On the other hand, there may be some damage of private parts of the children. This is mostly experienced in young girls as the door of the act forces try to force into the immature private parts. Some cases are so severe to the extent where the victim has to undergo the surgery in order to correct the damage (Bowman, 2005). Boys are not excluded in this case since their private parts may also be damaged during the assault. Blood may be lost during the assault that may lead to health problems of a child (Smothers, 2011). The effects of sexual harassment on Education One of the hindrances that discriminates girls and women, especially those who wish to further their studies, is sexual harassment. Therefore, failure to protect the women and girls or respond swiftly to sexual harassment violates their education rights as well as their physical integrity. It has been noted that sexual harassment has a lot of destabilizing effects especially to education of a girl-child. Most of the rape survivors have been reported to have had their performance drop at school. This is because it is hard for them to concentrate on their education after the assault. Some of the girls have been reported to have lost interest in school altogether while some get transferred to other schools and majority of them leaving school completely. From the studies carried by most of the therapists, girls who were raped while they were young were failing their higher education and lost interest in outside activities like sports (Russell, 2004). Most of the children become depressed, anxious and disruptive, therefore, cannot concentrate in their classroom activities. It has also been seen that girls who have experienced sexual violence in any set up either in school or at home were not performing to their full potential. Some children especially girls who are the victims of sexual harassment may end up getting pregnant. This may make them drop out of school, therefore, affecting their education and their career ambitions How to protect children from sexual harassment both in school and home The following are some safety measures to be done by parents to protect their children both at home and in school Talk-talk most of the time with your child and be open. Taking directly and openly will allow the child to know that it is good when they have questions. When a child comes to you with questions or concerns, try to find time to listen and talk to them. Teach- teach your child some key principles. For instance, Teach the children the names of parts of their bodies so as to have the language of asking questions and expressing their concerns regarding their bodies. Let the children know that if somebody is talking or touching them in uncomfortable ways that make them uncomfortable that they should speak it out. If your child is not comfortable with someone touching them, he or she should reveal it to a trusted person immediately Empower-your child should know it is good to speak up if they are not comfortable or if somebody is touching them. It is good to say no even to grownups they know as part of family members Implement-implement safety protocols through various platforms and work with older children in setting guidelines for how they can talk and the information to be shared Educate-educate yourself concerning signs of childhood sexual harassment and try to know what to look for and the correct way of responding Reasons of sexual harassment on children There may be no single reason as to why people engage in sexual harassment among the young children. According to Antoinette, 2001, harassments usually occur in families where there are various combinations of factors. Neglect and abuse occur mostly in families who are undergoing pressure and lack of proper support. Most abuse occurs in family setups where the following apply: Inadequate housing Poverty Serious marital problems Frequent changes of addresses Violence amongst family members Lack of support from the extended family Lack of education Social isolation and loneliness Unemployment In some instances, the abuser may also exhibit the following: The parent may have been abused as a child The lack of skills and knowledge in raising children High expectations of the child and what the child must achieve Low self-confidence and self-esteem Depression Alcohol and/or drug abuse Physical or mental ill-health Work pressures Conclusion It can be noted that child abuse exist in various forms including pressurizing or asking a child to take part in sexual activities, indecent exposure with the intention of gratifying own sexual pleasures or to groom and use a child to produce pornography. Some of the effects of child abuse include anxiety, depression, post-traumatic disorder, physical injury and propensity to for further victimization during adulthood among other problems. Sexual harassment by any of the members of the same family may result in incest thus leading to prolonged severe psychological trauma. In fact, it is worst in the case of the parental incest. It can also be noted that there are various ways of dealing with sexual abuse among the children. Some include, talking openly, Teaching children some important issues about sexual abuse, educating yourself concerning signs of childhood sexual harassment and Empower your child to speak up among other things (Foa & Street, 2001). There may be no single reason as to why people engage in sexual harassment among the young children. Harassments usually occur in families where there are various combinations of factors. Abuse neglect and mostly occur in families who are undergoing pressure and lack of proper support References A, E. (2007). Discrimination Against Women: Prevalence, Consequences, and Remedies. Thousand Oaks, CA:: Sage Publications. Antoinette, M. (2001). Academic and Workplace Sexual Harassment. SUNY Press. Bowman, C. G. (2005). Street Harassment and the Informal Ghettoization of Women. Harvard Law Review , 517–80. Davis, E. B. (2011). The Courage To Heal: A Guide For Women Survivors Of Child Sexual Abuse. Ebury Publishing. Foa, E., & Street, G. ( 2001). Women and traumatic events . The Journal of clinical psychiatry , 29–34. Leedy, L. (2002). Class Action: The Landmark Case that Changed Sexual Harassment Law. New York : Anchor Books. MacKinnon, C. A., & Siegel, R. I. (2004). Directions in Sexual Harassment Law. Yale University. Russell, D. E. (2004). Sexual exploitation: rape, child sexual abuse, and workplace harassment. Sage Publications. Smothers, D. B. (2011). A Sexual Assault Primary Prevention Model with Diverse Urban Youth". . Journal of Child Sexual Abuse , 708–727. Strauss, S. L. (2013). Sexual Harassment and Bullying: A Guide to Keeping Kids Safe and Holding Schools Accountable. Rowman & Littlefield. Read More