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	The Effect of Child Sexual Abuse on a Family By Cecilio Calizar Westmoreland Times April 4, 2011 http://westmorelandtimes.com/news/2011/04/effects-of-child-sexual-abuse-on-a-family-04041104214201/ Finding out that your son or daughter has been sexually abused is a very painful and distressing reality. Many parents fail to recover from it while the entire family relationship is put in turmoil and confusion. There are actually distinct effects of child sexual abuse on a particular family and most of those differences are based on who carried out the abuse. Clergy Abuse Whenever children accuse a priest or any clergy member of sexually molesting or abusing them, the kind of impact it has to the family of the victim is very adverse and unpleasant. At the initial moments of the accusation, the alleged victim's parents cannot help themselves but cast doubt on their child's allegation. No one can blame them since accusing a member of the church is a very risky and sometimes outrageous thing to do, considering that a priest is perhaps the least of all people to be guilty of such a crime. But in the event that the accusation is substantiated or perhaps the priest has confessed, there is still a considerable effect towards the family of the victim. For obvious reasons, the entire family, even the relatives start to question their loyalty on the local church or congregation where the offender was housed. It may even go as far as the whole family transferring to another church or even religious faith. Sexual Abuse Carried Out By a Total Stranger Since most kids these days are left unmonitored when using the internet, they become a lot more vulnerable for abuse by online predators and pedophiles. These people use web technology such as email, social networking, and chat in order to build relationships with potential victims. If ever your child is abused by an offender he/she met online, the effect on the family are very evident. The husband and the wife begin to point fingers and blame each other for what had happened to their child. Rules and regulations in the house become a lot stricter and tighter in order to prevent it from happening again. The other kids are not allowed to use the internet anymore without the accompaniment of mother, father, or an older sibling. Regrets and blames fly all over the home. Everyone keeps on blaming either themselves or other family members because no one anticipated the sexual abuse to take place and consume their child. Intra-familial Sexual Abuse But there is no other type of child sexual abuse that has more negative effects on a family than intra-familial sexual abuse. It happens when a child is abused by a fellow family member. This type of abuse happens almost every day and it is one of the many reasons why families stumble and eventually end up getting separated and breaking up. Sexual abuse within the family results to immeasurable anger, embarrassment, fear, and constant fighting. Anger is a natural feeling for any member of the family who finds out that their child is a victim of another member. In a lot of cases, anger becomes the spark for criminal charges, legal issues, and custody battles. Embarrassment is felt not only by the victim and the offender, but the entire family as well. No one wants to have a relative who can swallow molesting his/her own blood. Fear on the other is generally felt by the victim. It may eventually result to the failure of disclosing or revealing the abuse because of the fear of being harmed all over again or perhaps because of embarrassment and other repercussions. Child sexual abuse offenders are a top concern for many parents across the nation. It is important to understand that most abusers are well known acquaintances to their victims. You can find out important stats and tips at Child Refuge. Sexual Molesters can be stopped and the wounds they inflict can be healed.
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