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Educators : Recognizing Child Abuse and Neglect, Part 4
(Page 7 of 10) Case Example Freddy began complaining of headaches and loss of appetite. His parents reported that he had frequent nightmares and bedwetting and was suddenly obsessed with keeping clean. He seemed alienated from his friends and withdrew into himself. His schoolwork appeared to suffer. His concerned but busy parents began to explore the cause of his changed behavior. A friend of Freddy told his parents that a male staff member at an after-school program that both he and Freddy attended had molested him. The story revealed that Freddy also was abused. Freddy continued to deny this until the staff member admitted his involvement with both boys and described the threats he used to attempt to silence them. Freddy was afraid to reveal the abuse due to the threats made toward him. | ||||||||
Freddy's fears, nightmares, bedwetting, and obsessive cleanliness are typical reactions of sexually abused children. Some victims withdraw while others express their conflicts with aggression. Educators should be aware of other indicators of possible sexual abuse, such as children drawing unusual pictures involving children with no mouths or hands or explicit drawings of genitalia or sexual acts. Many are so consumed with the efforts to deal with their conflicts over the abuse that they lack the energy to keep up their studies. Like Freddy, sexually abused children keep the secret not only because the perpetrator may have threatened them, their families, or their pets, but also because they feel they are to blame for their involvement and fear that no one will believe them if they report the abuse. The abuse also may create fear in boys about their sexuality or masculinity. When sexually abused children begin to tell of their abuse by sexually acting out, the clues may seem clearer to some adults. Children who are being or have been sexually abused will sometimes abuse their peers or younger children. This seems to be their way of trying to make sense of the abuse they have received. They have learned sexual stimulation and, therefore, may stimulate themselves or peers. Learning that they often receive attention through sexualized behavior, they may approach adults seductively assuming that this is what all adults want from them. It may be more difficult to detect the symptoms of sexual abuse in adolescents because of their increased knowledge about sexuality. Yet, teens that exhibit intense promiscuity and self-injurious behavior (e.g., eating disorders or self-mutilation) may be revealing conflicts they feel they cannot handle. In some cases these internal conflicts are so severe that a victim of sexual abuse contemplates or attempts suicide. If an adolescent or teen confides personal thoughts or behaviors to an educator that suggests such a possibility, the following questions that focus on the strongest risk factors have demonstrated usefulness in screening high school students for risk of suicide:
If an individual has suicidal thoughts and a plan for how to kill him- or herself, the more developed and lethal the plan, the greater the risk of suicide. The educator should be judicious in making such inquiries and questions should always be developmentally appropriate. Upon learning an adolescent or teen is suicidal, the educator must immediately identify and contact a professional trained to work in this area. It is important to realize that most sexual abuse victims do not demonstrate suicidal tendencies. Many other indicators and behaviors are more commonly exhibited. See the case example below. Case Example Beverly was a ninth-grade student who suddenly began to grow extremely thin. Her teachers observed that she never ate lunch, and when they mentioned it to her, she passed it off by saying there was never anything she liked. When she fainted in biology lab one day, the biology teacher called in the guidance counselor and asked him to see Beverly. Beverly, however, denied that there was a problem. When the guidance counselor suggested that he talk with her mother, however, Beverly became hysterical. Several months later when Beverly was hospitalized with an eating disorder, a friend, who was petrified that Beverly would die, came to the guidance counselor with the information that Beverly was being sexually abused by her uncle. For Beverly, caught up in a web of secrecy and sexual abuse, the idea of starving herself seemed preferable to telling her mother what was happening. It is important to remember that while anorexia is usually a cry for help, it is not always indicative of physical or sexual abuse. Another more recent phenomenon is the growing sexual abuse of children via the Internet. Children of all ages now have access to computers in schools and libraries. While no one is disputing the use of computers as valuable tools for learning, there is a growing problem of children's exposure (accidentally or intentionally) to pornography as well as solicitations online from sexual offenders. Researchers found in a study that 49 percent of youths being solicited and 44 percent of those unintentionally exposed to pornography did not report the incidents. The following are some clues that a child may be involved with a sexual predator or is accessing sexually graphic material. Be aware if a child:
Concerns related to this should be reported to CPS, who will then refer them to the appropriate agency. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, in conjunction with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Postal Service, and the U.S. Customs Service, also has a Cyber-tipline (http://www.missingkids.com) and toll-free telephone number (1.800.843.5678) where anyone can file a report regarding online pornography.
About the Author www.childwelfare.gov |
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