Sexual Abuse: Vulnerabilities and Prevention
A sexual playground has been created.
With the increase in technology and our children’s access to everyone and everyone to them, a sexual playground has been created. Just as a child explores a fun playground, a child is going to explore online. As parents and caregivers, we ensure our children are safe on the physical playground: making sure they don’t go on equipment that isn’t safe for them, catching them at the bottom of the slide, and pushing them on the swings.
As parents and caregivers, we must take the same approach to the online world and know just as a child could experience hurt on the playground, our children can experience pain online.
Due to online usage, how we define sexual abuse has changed. The sexual abuse of children has always been heartwrenching to unpack and understand.
Various research reports anywhere from 1 in 7 to 1 in 4 children are sexually abused by the time they reach their 18th birthday. Children that have been sexually abused are extremely at risk of being exploited after their abuse.
More than 90% of children who are commercially sexually exploited have been sexually abused in the past.
When a child sends or receives an intimate photo—that is sexual abuse.
If a video is uploaded or shared online of a child performing any type of sexual act— that is sexual abuse.
The reality is, our youth are experiencing sexual abuse more and more, and it becomes difficult for youth to name their experiences as sexual abuse because it’s been so normalized. For example, sexting is a normal way of communication between youth, and I can assure you it’s happening in almost every school across the U.S.— yet sexting is sexual abuse. When youth and adults can name something so normal as abuse, we prevent it from happening and restore those who’ve gone through it.
In the book, Online Child Victimisation, authors Corinne May Chahal and Emma Kelly define online sexual abuse:
“Online sexual abuse can be any form of sexual abuse of children… which has a link to the online environment. Thus, online sexual abuse can take the form of sexual molestation and/or sexual harassment through social media or other online channels. Child sexual abuse also takes an online dimension when, for instance, acts of sexual abuse are photographed or video/audio-recorded and then uploaded and made available online, whether for personal use or for sharing with others. Each repeated viewing and/or sharing of such recorded material constitutes a new violation of the rights of the child”
If 90% of children who are trafficked had experienced sexual abuse as a child, we know a pattern exists. So in order to prevent exploitation and sex trafficking, we must address and prevent child sexual abuse.
The following are vulnerabilities for child sexual abuse:
Family structure is the most important risk factor in child sexual abuse. Children who live with two married biological parents are at low risk for abuse. The risk increases when children live with step-parents or a single parent.
African American children have almost twice the risk of sexual abuse than white children. Children of Hispanic ethnicity have a slightly greater risk than non-Hispanic white children
The risk for sexual abuse is tripled for children whose parent(s) are not in the labor force. Children in low socioeconomic status households are three times as likely to be identified as a victim of child abuse.
*Source Here
As caregivers, parents, and community members, we need to have our hearts open to the dynamics in our communities. Families that have the above-listed vulnerabilities need to be supported, cared for, and given the opportunity for healthy relationships.
To prevent child sexual abuse (both on and offline) we can support these families, build relationships with them through community efforts, volunteering, and investment. We can be educated on WHAT sexual abuse and trafficking look like in our area and HOW to talk about it with the people around us.
That’s where Freedom 4/24 steps in. Below are tips and resources for you and your family: