Guardians of the Innocent
Parents Must Awaken to Protect Our Children
Child sexual abuse
involves any sexual contact between an adult and a child or between an older child and a younger child for the sexual gratification of the older party. Sexual abuse of children takes numerous forms and does not always involve physical contact between the victim and the abusive party. Emotional abuse, sexual grooming, or exposure to pornography are all forms of child sexual abuse, even though they do not inherently involve physical contact or result in injury to the victim.
Child sexual abuse can happen to any child. However, certain youth demographics are statistically more likely to experience child sexual abuse than others. Demographic factors indicating a higher likelihood of sexual abuse include gender, disability status, social class, and family background.
Specifically, the following factors are associated with a heightened risk for children to experience child sexual abuse:
Females comprise 82 percent of all survivors of sexual abuse under the age of 18.
LGBT children or children who may go on to identify as LGBT as adults are vulnerable.
Children with mental, physical, or learning disabilities.
Physically disabled children are 2.9 times more likely than non-disabled children to experience sexual abuse.
Intellectually, cognitively, or mentally disabled children are 4.6 times more likely than non-disabled children to experience sexual abuse.
Children from low-income families are three times as likely to experience childhood sexual abuse.
Children living in single-parent households or foster care.
Children living without both biological parents are 10 times as likely to be sexually abused.
Children living with a biological parent and the parent’s non-biologically related partner are 20 times more likely to be sexually abused.
Children of parents struggling with mental illness or drug addiction are at greater risk.
Children of color—with Indigenous and Black children over twice as likely as white children to experience child sexual abuse.
Signs & Symptoms of Child Sexual Abuse:
It can be difficult for a child to verbally report child sexual abuse, especially for younger children. However, there are several signs and symptoms of child sexual abuse that may indicate that a child is suffering harm. These signals can appear in virtually every part of a child’s life and do not always include a visible physical injury.
Signs and symptoms of child sexual abuse are commonly visible in children in terms of behavioral, emotional, and physical changes. Potential long-term effects of child sexual abuse are also important to look out for in children who may have experienced abuse.
Behavioral:
A frequent indicator of child sexual abuse is sudden changes in a child’s behavior.
Behaviors that may indicate sexual abuse include the following:
Appearing threatened by physical contact or shrinking away from touch
Sudden preference for being alone
Changing hygiene routines, such as suddenly refusing to bathe or bathing excessively
Silence and secret-keeping
Regressive behaviors such as thumb-sucking or bed-wetting
Age-inappropriate sexual conduct
Excessive or age-inappropriate sexual talk or knowledge of sexual terms
Self-harming behaviors
Emotional:
Abrupt changes in a child’s personality or emotional state are also common signs of child sexual abuse.
These changes may include the following:
New anxiety, fearfulness, or worry
Decrease in confidence or self-esteem
Personality changes such as newfound aggression or defiance
Separation anxiety from primary caregivers or fear of being alone with certain people
Nightmares or other sleep disturbances
Depression or loss of interest in daily activities, friendships, and school
Paranoia or hallucinations
Self-harming behaviors
Physical
While not all sexually abused children suffer a physical injury, there are common injuries associated with child sexual abuse.
Some injuries that may indicate sexual abuse are:
Bruising, swelling, or other trauma on or around the genitals, anus, or mouth
Non-menstrual blood on sheets or in underwear
Persistent or recurring pain while urinating or during bowel movements
Development of sexually transmitted infections
Pregnancy in pubescent children and adolescents
Hives, rashes, and autoimmune responses to stress
Potential Long-Term Effects
An alarming concern is how policy shifts are opening new doors for predators. In some states, the lowering of the age for minors to consent to mental health care—while intended to increase access to support—has had unintended consequences. It is attracting pedophiles into fields such as play therapy and family court–connected services, where they use professional authority and the DSM as a shield to gain inappropriate access to children. These loopholes endanger the very youth they claim to serve.
For children, it is often difficult to verbalize what has happened to them. Their souls may whisper in other ways. Signs of child sexual abuse often appear through behavioral and emotional shifts: shrinking away from touch, sudden secrecy, regression such as bedwetting, or even excessive sexual knowledge inappropriate for their age. Physical signs can also include genital injuries, recurring pain, or even early pregnancy.
The long-term effects of abuse are profound. Survivors may carry trauma into adulthood through mental health struggles—PTSD, dissociation, personality disorders, or obsessive-compulsive tendencies. Physical outcomes such as chronic pain, obesity, or poor health are also common. Many survivors turn to destructive coping mechanisms like substance abuse. Statistics even show long-term socioeconomic impacts, with survivors less likely to attend college, hold stable employment, or achieve financial stability.
Each statistic, each sign, each ripple effect represents more than data—it represents
a divine being of Light whose soul was harmed
when the sacred boundary of childhood was broken.
The responsibility falls to us, collectively, to notice, to protect, and to advocate. Silence is complicity. Awareness is the first step toward change.