Sexual Abuse Awareness Month > The Consequences of Child Sexual Violence > INSPQ

 

April is Sexual Abuse Awareness month!

Child sexual abuse is far and away the worst kind of sexual abuse, yet it is very poorly known or understood. CSA is the worst atrocity mankind has ever inflicted upon itself, both in terms of numbers and the devastation that it causes in the lives of its victims. 

More children have been sexually abused in the 21st century than all the casualties (dead and wounded) in all the wars and all the genocides of the entire 20th century.

Here is a comprehensive list of the consequences of CSA, many of which I can personally vouch for.

Consequences of childhood and adolescent sexual violence

INSPQ  -   National Institute of Public Health of Quebec

Sexual violence in childhood and adolescence affects the well-being and development of victims, and contributes significantly to the overall burden of disease1. Some consequences may be immediate, while others may appear or persist into adulthood.

In Canada, in 2021, sexual violence before the age of 15, involving physical contact, contributed to 0.03% of deaths and 0.29% of years lived with disability (YLDs). Worldwide, in 2021, it ranked 48th among causes of death and 30th among risk factors having the greatest impact on years lived with disability2.

Sexual violence during childhood and adolescence can also occur at the same time as other negative experiences, such as other forms of violence experienced within the family or at school (e.g., exposure to domestic violence, physical abuse) or family difficulties (e.g., a parent's substance abuse problems). This combination of experiences can exacerbate the consequences3–5.

Consequences for mental health

• Anxiety4,6–13
• Behavioural disorders, impulsivity, and risk-taking behaviour 7,10,13,25
• Body image dissatisfaction16
• Depression4,6–11,13–15
• Eating disorders, borderline or antisocial personality disorders, schizophrenia 7,9,11–13,24
• Emotional, affective and psychological distress and difficulties (e.g., distress, despair, anger, attachment difficulties, identity disturbances)4,12,14–17
• Feelings of shame and guilt7,16
• Lower self-esteem19
• Post-traumatic stress (e.g., dissociation, flashbacks, avoidance of risky situations, intrusive thoughts, nightmares, hypervigilance, irritability)4,7–12,14,16,23
• Problem gambling21,22
• Self-harm4,12,13
• Suicidal ideation and behaviour4,7,10,12–14,20
• Use of psychoactive substances, including abuse of or dependence on these substances (e.g., alcohol, cannabis, tobacco, cocaine, opioids, other drugs)4,7,10–14,18

Consequences for physical and sexual health 

• Altered knowledge, perceptions and beliefs about sexuality (e.g., judgmental attitudes towards sexuality, disgust towards sexuality)16,26
• Diseases (asthma, cancer, heart disease, etc.)3,13,33
• Early or unwanted pregnancies (including in adolescence) and reproductive and obstetrical problems (e.g., miscarriage, distress during labour and delivery)7,13,16,27
• Risky or compulsive sexual behaviours (e.g., sexual activities initiated earlier, multiple sexual partners, sex without a condom, injection drug use during sex, hypersexuality, inability to control sexual urges and behaviours)4,12,16,26,27
• Sexual dysfunctions and difficulties (e.g., sexual dissatisfaction, difficulty achieving orgasm, problems with sexual desire or arousal, genital or sexual pain, erectile dysfunction, sexual distress, sexual aversion)16,28–31
• Sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections4,7,13,32
• Somatic problems (e.g., urinary incontinence during sleep in children, digestive problems, headaches or stomach-aches, chronic fatigue, irritable bowel syndrome, migraines, weight loss, insomnia)6,7,15

Relational, social, and economic consequences

• Difficulties at school (e.g., dropping out of school, poorer academic performance) and at work (e.g., job insecurity, financial instability)4,5,34,35
• Externalizing behaviour problems (e.g., aggressive behaviour, physical fighting, school suspension, delinquency)4,6,7
• Loss of family ties and difficulty maintaining family ties9
• Lower levels of education and income35
• Relationship and parental difficulties (e.g., relationship or parental dissatisfaction, relationship conflicts, difficulty forming and maintaining intimate relationships)7,10,16,36,37
• Social isolation6

The consequences listed above are presented in alphabetical order, regardless of frequency or severity.

References are available on INSPQ at:

References

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