Sexual Abuse - Signs and Clues
Christiane Fux studied journalism and psychology in Hamburg. The experienced medical editor has been writing magazine articles, news and factual texts on all conceivable health topics since 2001. In addition to her work for, Christiane Fux is also active in prose. Her first crime novel was published in 2012, and she also writes, designs and publishes her own crime plays.
More posts by Christiane Fux All content is checked by medical journalists.Recognizing sexual abuse is not easy. While there are many possible indications of sexual abuse, there are hardly any clear symptoms
Some abused children act normally on the outside. Others suddenly act conspicuously, apparently for no reason. However, the majority of sexually abused children send out signals to get attention and get help.
Individual references are not proof of sexual abuse. Only the sum of various abnormalities and erroneous observations, combined with one's own feeling that something is wrong, can harden the suspicion.
»Emotional changes: Traumatized children sometimes show strong mood swings. Some withdraw, become very quiet and closed. Others are restless, irritable and aggressive and are prone to crying fits or fits of anger.
»Sexualized behavior: Some of the abused children develop highly sexualized behavior that is not appropriate for their age. The limits to normal childish curiosity are not always easy to recognize. It is noticeable when children not only look at the genitals of other children or perhaps want to touch them, but stimulate or even penetrate them orally or with the hand.
Some affected children compulsively re-enact the sexual abuse they have experienced. They try to encourage other children to play along. Others make drawings depicting the abuse they have experienced.
»Retrograde development: Some of the children regress, that is, the children fall back on an earlier stage of development. For example, they start sucking their thumbs again, wetting or pooping themselves, or using baby language again.
»Psychosomatic complaints: Many sexually abused children suffer from psychosomatic complaints.These are reactions of the body that are triggered by the psychological stress. For example, abdominal pain, headache and skin diseases for which there is no physical cause are typical. The children are sickly and often absent from school.
»Mental disorders: The trauma of abuse is also reflected in mental disorders. These include common nightmares, fears, tics, compulsions, depression, and borderline disorders. Some sufferers develop auto-aggressive behaviors such as self-harm, eating disorders (overeating, anorexia, bulimia), drug consumption and even attempted suicide.
»Slump in school performance: The heavy burden of abuse is almost always reflected in school performance. Sleep disorders, chronic exhaustion and concentration disorders wear down the child and let the grades slide into the cellar.
»Physical Signs: Clear physical symptoms of sexual abuse are rare. These include bruises and injuries in the chest and genital area, sexually transmitted diseases or sperm traces.
