Women Who Were Sexually Abused

Women Who Were Sexually Abused During Their Childhood

The impact of sexual abuse during childhood has recently become to be recognized as a factor in many lifelong problems including problems with intimacy, low self-esteem, depression, as well as a host of other problems which this study intends to examine. This work intends to examine three studies or reports in this area of study in the attempt to disseminate the impact and lasting effects to the woman who has sustained sexual abuse during childhood.

The work of Mullen and Fleming (1998) entitled: "Long-term Effects of Child Sexual Abuse" published in the Journal of Issues in Child Abuse Prevention states that child sexual abuse "has come to be widely regarded as a cause of mental health problems in adult life." In fact, child sexual abuse influences the individual's interpersonal, social and sexual functioning in adult life and its possible role in mediating some, if not all, of the deleterious effects on mental health..." (Mullen and Fleming, 1998) According to Mullen and Fleming (1998) originally, the conceptualization of the "relationship between child sexual abuse and adult psychopathology tended...to be...in terms of a chronic form of post traumatic stress disorder." (1998) the focus of the model of which Mullen and Fleming speak was one that had its primary focus on symptoms that were induced by trauma and specifically "dissociative disorders such as desensitization, amnesias, fugues and even multiple personality. The idea was that the stress induced symptoms engendered in the process of the abuse and have reverberated down the years to produce a post-abuse syndrome in adult life." (1998) Mullen and Fleming state that child sexual abuse "is not randomly distributed through the population" and that child sexual abuse occurs "more frequently in children from socially deprived and disorganized family backgrounds. Marital dysfunction, as evidenced by parental separation and domestic violence, is associated with higher risks of child sexual abuse, and involves intrafamilial and extrafamilial perpetrators." (1998) the adverse outcomes of child sexual abuse have been found to be related "as much to the disrupted childhood backgrounds, in the context of which the abuse arose, as to the child sexual abuse itself.

The work of Mullen and Fleming (1998) states findings that a positive correlation exists between "a history of child sexual abuse and mental health problems in adult life." (Mullen and Fleming, 1998) Additionally stated in the work of Mullen and Fleming (1998) is that the influence that child sexual abuse may have on the social and economic functioning of the adult "has not received the attention it perhaps deserves. The well documented difficulties that sexually abused children experience in the school situation with academic performance and behavior might be expected to negatively influence later educational attainments, and impair the development of the skills and discipline necessary to sustain effective work roles." (1998) Child sexual abuse has further been found to be associated "with problems with sexual adjustment in adult life." (Mullen and Fleming, 1998) Women who were sexually abused as children and which abuse involved intercourse have been found to be "significantly less likely to find their adult sexual relationships very satisfactory." (Mullen and Fleming, 1998) Women with histories of being sexually abused as children "were nearly twice as likely to report current sexual problems and for women whose abuse involved penetration, nearly 70% complained of current sexual problems." (Mullen and Fleming, 1998) Women who are sexually abused deal with what is an "assault on their developing sense of sexual identity" and as well the girl's "construction of the world as a safe enough environment and their developing sense of others as trustworthy" is directly and adversely impacted by child sexual abuse. (Mullen and Fleming, 1998)

The work of Hughes, et al. (1998) entitled: "The Health Impacts on Adult Women of Childhood Sexual Violence Before the Age of Twelve Years" reports a research study with the objective of determining the links that may exist between the health impact of childhood sexual violence prior to the age of twelve years of age and chronic ill-health in adult women who had been victims to childhood sexual violence prior to the age of twelve years. Hughes et al. (1998) states that in the majority of the cases in this study the child knew the perpetrator very well and in fact, the perpetrator was found to be most often a member of the child's family and in many of the cases in this study "there was more than one perpetrator." (Hughes et al., 1998) There as reported a high degree of injury resulting from the sexual assault and as well a high rate of "reported physical impacts and emotional impacts from the assaults including significantly high rates of illness across the broad spectrum of indicators, especially significantly high rates of depression and dissociation." (Hughes, et al., 1998)

It is reported by Hughes et al. that respondents in this study stated that their confiding in someone resulted in overwhelmingly negative reactions and one respondent stated specifically: "I was punished and called a liar and they tried to purify me. I was told it was all in my imagination and I was told I had a wicked imagination." (1998) Therefore, "distrust of others is...an understandable long-term response to human interactions, or to be more specific interactions with adults." (Hughes et al., 1998) Another finding in this study which affirms the statement of Mullen and Fleming (1998) that these women are generally underachievers socially and economically is that most of the women in this particular study "lived on less than $20,000 per annum, spending more than one quarter of their income on accommodation and were dependent on loans which increased their indebtedness. Women on such low incomes require free counseling and support services to address their childhood traumas. Low incomes do not afford opportunities for healthy lifestyles with adequate diet and exercise regimens. Women on such low incomes and with limited work opportunities require free, accessible, confidential and long-term support services where they can keep the one counselor over the years necessary for their recovery. (Hughes, et al., 1998) in fact, it is stated that sixty percent of respondents in this study "have an annual income of less than $10,000 and thirteen percent of respondents in this study "have an annual income of between $10-20,000 with twenty five percent stating that their income is between $20-40,000 with no respondents having an income in excess of $40,000. Hughes et al. states that Mullen and Fleming (1998) state findings that the "explanation for abused women being in less well paid and prestigious jobs could be that they underestimated their value and sought occupations below their capacities." (Hughes, et al., 1998) This study additionally states findings that the experience of childhood sexual violence "has a significant impact on daily life decisions including the type of housing chosen, transport used, and type of work performed. Childhood sexual violence affects the whole person in thought, behavior, feelings and daily living." (Hughes, et al., 1998)

Definitions of childhood sexual violence provided by respondents in the study reported by Hughes et al. includes the following:

Betrayal, degrading, kills the child inside. Seems like you're always running away from it but never getting further away.

It's robbery first and foremost of my teenage years because I didn't have coming into puberty in the way that I understand as normal now. I felt I was labeled.

An invasion. Innocence that is taken away. Concept of trust - not as straightforward as it should be.

Any sexual activity with children including pornographic videos as well as physical contact because in no way can the child give consent.

Any wrong doing to person/s that's not wanted.

Probably violence of a sexual nature directed at kids, but it may not even appear to be violent.

Where you've been sexually hurt, like abused when you were a kid.

Anything that damages the child's perceptions of her body and that ranges from words to touch to rape.

It's horrifying - takes away your identity. You're not the same as everybody else.

Inappropriate behavior or messages, not just physical hurt.

Bad people hurt you.

Betraying your child.

Torture - to me it's more defined as loss of childhood (Hughes et al., 1998)

The majority of women who were sexually abused as children report having a good relationship with their children however, they do report feeling overprotective as well as feeling "paranoid about other people and lacking bonding." (Hughes et al., 1998) in fact, Hughes et al. reports that there is a myth that women who are sexually abused as children "go on to perpetrate violence against those close to them" and this is not necessarily true however, women survivors do appear "to turn the experience of sexual violence back on themselves through self-harm and depression." (1998) in the area of adult relationships difficulties were noted by these women who state the following in relation to their current relationships:

Difficult. it's hard to trust anyone. My past constantly hounds me, so I try and make things perfect but I can't.

We are extremely close.

Amazing - I've found someone I can really trust. I feel really lucky at the moment because all my other relationships have been *****.

Too good. it's really hard to describe. Unreal! I guess I now can't live without him. it's too good. He's grown on me.

I think I need to clarify I'm still married. I feel that in a marriage there ought to be a sexual relationship but in the last four years, I have been unable to give that and nor do I desire resuming it with my husband.