In today's culture and society, child sexual abuse is considered a very serious crime. While there are corresponding heavy criminal punishments for those who sexually violate children and minors, statistics still show a shocking set of figures when it comes to how many children and teens are sexually abused each year. And the most unfortunate truth is, the child victims obtain the most painful effects and consequences.
The most common types of child abuse include:
- PHYSICAL ABUSE
- EMOTIONAL ABUSE
- NEGLECT
- SEXUAL ABUSE
Long-Term Effects of Child Abuse
Child sexual abuse produces adverse and devastating effects on the victim. Even while offenders and pedophiles don’t show a single trace of remorse for doing it, victims will always get a traumatic experience that will surely linger on for the rest of their lives. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), drug and alcohol addiction, the tendency to become abusers, and mental and behavioral disorders are some of the common long-term psychological and emotional consequences for victims who have failed to recover and heal.
Victims of child sexual abuse usually show feelings of guilt and shame. Guilt is compounded by the culture of silence in most communities where survivors of sexual mistreatment live. Additionally, intra-familial abuse is another instance where victims are left with no choice but to feel guilty and ashamed. They see themselves as responsible for humiliating the entire family while at the same time feeling the shame of having to tell others about it. Sexual abuse that happens within a family is one of the most difficult situations. Victims are placed in a predicament as to whether reveal the abuse and risk embarrassment for the entire family or just keep it within the home and just carry the pain and suffering all by themselves.
Knock on the court’s door
If your child has been a victim of sexual abuse, taking legal action makes the most sense. It will help you in obtaining compensation for the child's medical expenses, or psychological treatment such as therapy or counseling so they can recover emotionally and psychologically from their abuse.
Contact a Child Abuse Lawyer Today
Our team of child abuse lawyers in the Dallas-Fort Worth area in Texas, here at Samples Ames PLLC, can help you find justice in a child sexual abuse case. You have the right to ask the legally responsible party to compensate your child for any psychological damages that have been incurred from the abuse, and a lawsuit can bring public attention to the case and thereby serve to further remove the abuser from other children in their environment. As a result, the abuser can be forced to take responsibility for their actions, and other children can be protected from future harm.
Contact our experienced child lawyers today for a free consultation to guide you as you work through this difficult time.