CSA SLIDES FOR ADULT sexual abuse and harrassment

Sexuality

1. Is this sexual abuse?
•A 16 year old boy having a sexual
relationship with his 15 year old
girlfriend
•A 25 year old swimming coach having
sexual relations with his 15 year old
student
•A 13 year old boy fondling a 5 year old
cousin

2. CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE
The involvement of a child in a sexual
activity with an adult (or any person
with authority and power over her) in
which the child is used as a sexual
object for gratification of the older
person’s needs or desires. There is no
such a thing as consent or cooperation
in such situations.

3. CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE
“involves acts in which an adult uses a
child for sexual gratification. These
acts include inappropriate exposure to
adult sexuality, direct sexual contact,
or making a child available to others
either directly or indirectly for immoral
and illegal acts, such as through
pornography.”
WHO definition (2000)

4. Child Sexual Abuse-RA 7610

includes the employment, use
persuasion, inducement, enticement or
coercion of a child to engage in, or
assist another person to engage in,
sexual intercourse or lascivious
conduct, or the molestation,
prostitution of or incest with children

5. DEFINITION OF INCEST
Rape Law of 1997 (RA 8353)
“ Incestuous rape…when offender is a
parent, ascendant, step-parent,
guardian, relative by consanguinity or
affinity within the third civil degree or
the common-law spouse of the parent
of the victim

6. OFFENDER STRATEGIES
Seduction/Grooming

7. The Offender Objectives
Seduction
Lower victim’s inhibition
Cooperation and “consent”

8. Seduction Techniques
•Dependent on target child’s development
stage, needs, and vulnerabilities
•Younger Child:
-Parents
-Fun, games, play
•Older child: Offender takes advantage of
-Normal time away from family
-Sexual arousal, rebelliousness, curiosity

9. Children as “perfect victims”
•Vulnerable
•Easily persuaded to cooperate
•Too ashamed to talk about it
•Many unsatisfied needs
•Deference to adults

10. CSA Accommodation Syndrome
STAGES
•Secrecy
•Helplessness
•Accommodation
•Delayed Disclosure
•Recantation

11. Secrecy
Younger children
-Covert threats
-Overt threats
Older children
-Understand
consequences of
disclosure
Helplessness
•Initial resistance
abandoned
•Easier to “switch off”
•Attempts to disclose
not believed

12. Accommodation
•Child goes along with abuse to
maintain psychological integrity (feels
responsible for abuse and attempts to
correct the situation)
•Pressures
-Self-blame- Need to protect family
-Guilt integrity
-Need to protect other siblings
-Need to protect other parent
* Reversal of parent-child role

13. Delayed Disclosure
•Triggers for disclosure
-Escalating abuse
-Presence of supportive other
-Absence of Abuser
•Delay in and of itself diminishes
credibility
•Disclosure maybe censored

14. Retraction
•Disclosure is reversed under
pressure
•Seen more when abuser is trusted
parent/parent figure
•Society is more ready to believe that
“the child lied” rather than “abuse
happened”

15. Protection from torture, deprivation of liberty
and death penalty (Art. 37)
•“No child shall be subjected to torture or
other cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment, or sentenced to
capital punishment or life imprisonment
without release “
• “A child deprived of liberty shall be
treated with humanity and respect, taking
into account the child’s age; the child
shall be detained separately from adults”

16. Right to recovery and integration (Art. 39)
“Physical and psychological recovery and
reintegration must take place in an
environment that fosters the health, self –
respect and dignity of the child
Protection from sexual abuse and
exploitation ( Art. 34 )
“States parties undertake to protect the child from
all forms of sexual exploitation and sexual
abuse.”