The Protector Becoming The Perpetrator Adverse Impact Of Sexual Abuse On Children

Abstract

In India for every 155th minute a child less than 16 years is raped, for every 13th hour a child under 10 years and one in every 10 children are sexually abused at any point of time which makes India a country where the world's largest number of Child sexual abuse occurs.Sexual abuse is a heinous crime which leaves the survivor of the same in despair, depression and desolation. The short term and long-term effects of sexual abuse are numerous and devastating. Hence when a child or an adolescent has been abused sexually, empathetic understanding is more helpful as the incident of sexual abuse and the effects of sexual abuse tend to hamper an individual’s emotional and psychological development as well as social wellbeing. The present study tries to understand the effects of sexual abuse on the adolescent girls who have experienced sexual abuse in any form. The study also makes an attempt to understand survivors’ overall opinion about the incident, perpetrator, issues and the social aspects of sexual abuse. The data was obtained by using quantitative method i.e., using questionnaires and inventories and qualitative method i.e., structured interview.