Every individual has his or her own inherent rights that must be uphold and respected. Some of these rights are life, liberty, equality, and others. These rights play an essential role in the life of an individual because these are the reasons that make the very humanity of human beings. Rights are vital for a person to enjoy his or her existence and live a decent life. However, there are instances wherein people tend to hurt their fellow human beings. This kind of untoward behavior is often committed when an individual abuses the right that he or she has in the sense that he or she infringed upon the rights of others. This violation of human rights could be exemplified in various ways one of which is through sexual abuse.
Sexual abuse is defined as “any form of non-consensual physical contact” (National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse, 2003). The actions or behavior that could be considered as sexual abuse includes rape, molestation, or any sexual behavior with a person that lacks the necessary mental capacity to exercise consent. The perpetrators of sexual abuse could be anyone as the variation ranges from attendants, employees of care facilities as well as other institutions, and even family members that also include spouses (National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse, 2003).
The people who are most at risk of experiencing sexual abuse are women. This could be attributed from the fact that most of them are physically weaker as compared with their male counterparts who are usually the perpetrators of this kind of ill conduct. Children are also among the usual victims of sexual violence because other people especially older ones could easily manipulate them because of their young age and incapacity to think maturely and logically at times (Kalimuno, 2000). Moreover, people with physical or cognitive disabilities and those who lack social support and are often isolated are also susceptible to sexual abuse. In these situations, sexual abuse often takes place because of the ability of a stronger individual to take advantage of the weaknesses of others.
One of the most common types of sexual abuse especially for children is incest. Incest is defined as the “sexual contact that occurs between family members” (Boston Women’s Health Book Collective, 1998). The common incidents of incest happened between older male relatives and younger female children in the families. This kind of sexual abuse does not take into consideration class and color as it could happen to almost everyone. There are also cases wherein sexual abuse is committed by friends of the victims or other people that they normally trust such as: doctors, dentists, teachers, and baby-sitters. Incest sexual abuse usually happens because of the fact that parents teach their children to expect danger from strangers but they never discuss harm coming from trusted authority figures. In relation to this, it is understandable that most parents do not teach their children to doubt authorities because this type of violation of trust could be very frightening and confusing for the child (Boston Women’s Health Book Collective, 1998).
Incest and sexual abuse of children have various forms, which may include “sexually suggestive language; prolonged kissing, looking, and petting; vaginal and/or anal intercourse; and oral sex” (Boston Women’s Health Book Collective, 1998). Due to the fact that most sexual contact is often done without overt physical force, there are usually no observable signs of physical harm. Despite the reality that signs of physical abuse may not always be obvious, experiencing this kind of sexual violation can have lifelong consequences especially for those who experienced it at a very young age (Boston Women’s Health Book Collective, 1998).
People who experience sexual abuse have various ways in order to cope with this kind of tragedy. However, almost every victim needs the support and help of other people to heal from the trauma of incest or other forms of sexual violation. These victims need to tell other people their in order to help them gain perspective. Counseling and special support groups are just some of the means that could aid victims of sexual abuse (Boston Women’s Health Book Collective). The help of other people encourage victims of sexual abuse to ease their pain and feel healthier and stronger because they find refuge in the fact that they are not alone.
References
Boston Women’s Health Book Collective. (1998). Incest and Sexual Abuse of Children.
Retrieved December 7, 2008, from http://www.feminist.com/resources/ourbodies/viol_incest.html.
Munro, K. (2000). Incest and Child Sexual Abuse: Definitions, Perpetrators, Victims, and
Effects. Retrieved December 7, 2008, from http://www.kalimunro.com/article_sexualabuse.html.
National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse. (2003). Sexual Abuse. Retrieved
December 7, 2008, from http://www.preventelderabuse.org/elderabuse/s_abuse.html.
