Social Work and Sexual Abuse: Types, Causes, and Consequences

This essay, written for a Master of Social Work program, delves into the multifaceted issue of sexual abuse. It defines sexual abuse, differentiating it from related terms, and explores various forms such as rape, sodomy, attempted rape, gang rape, serial rape, and incest. The essay examines the vulnerability of different victim groups including spouses, children, and the elderly, discussing specific scenarios like marital rape and child sexual abuse. It analyzes the causes of sexual abuse, including factors like alcohol and drug use, peer influence, and the perpetrators' motivations. Furthermore, the essay explores the profound impacts of sexual violence on victims, their families, and the broader community, highlighting the range of emotional and social reactions. It covers the impact on the family and community. The research underscores the need for comprehensive understanding and intervention strategies in social work practice.

Running head: MASTERS OF SOCIAL WORK 1
Masters of Social Work
Name
Institution

Social problems are those general problems affecting a society and causes damage to it. This
term, social problem, normally it is used to define problems that affect a particular area or a
particular set of people in the world. These are the difficulties that shake the real world and
affects how individuals react to certain situation. In the world there are numerous asocial
problems which include; drug abuse, alcohol abuse, poverty, economic deprivation,
unemployment, sexual abuse and prostitution. We are going to focus on sexual abuse.
Sexual abuse can also be referred to as molestation; this is usually a behavior that is not
desired. Sexual molestation is often perpetrated using force or when an individual takes
advantage of another. This is known as sexual assault when force is immediate and of short
duration or infrequent (Rellini, 2016). The offender is normally referred to as molester or sexual
abuser. When a child or any other individual who is younger than the age of consent for sexual
stimulation and is sexually abused by a grown up, is known as statutory rape or child sexual
abuse. This is normally termed as an act of violence which the aggressor uses against their
victims.
These attackers normally perceived their victims are weaker than them. This crime does not
originate from unrestrained sex drive, but is a crime that is intentionally committed. The
attacker’s goal is always to control and humiliate his or her victim. According to research, most
of those victims of sexual abuse are normally women. Sexual violence is a means that has been
used to oppress women in the patriarchal society.
Social violence is a social event that exists in every society, this normally exists in those
societies that are in support of aggressive behaviors and gender inequality this is mostly common

in Israel, where a lot of women fall victims of the rape crisis and normally turn to the rape crisis
center seeking for help normally after these attacks. According to research it has been proven
that 1 out of every 3 women will be abused sexually in their lifetime.
We have different types of sexual assaults and they include:
Rape: this is when a bodily organ or any object is inserted into the sex organs of a woman
without her consent.
Sodomy: this is where a bodily organ or any object is inserted into a person’s anus or mouth
without their consent.
Attempted rape: this occurs when there is an attempted insertion of any bodily organs or
any object into the sex organs of a woman or man without their consents.
Gang rape: this is a type of rape that is carried out by more than two attackers.
Serial rape: when an attacker repeats this rape incident over an extended period of time on
different victims, he becomes a serial rapist.
Incest: incest is the sexual abuse that takes place in the hands of a family member. This is
rape by a family member for instance a father rapping his daughter. Anyone can fall victim of
sexual assault. There are different types of victims in sexual abuse and it can range from a spouse
to the elderly people.
Spouses

Spouse sexual abuse is a form of domestic violence. This is where the abuse is characterized
by threats of forced sexual contact or unwanted sexual contact by a woman’s ex-husband or
husband; this may be constituted as rape. This is also known as matrimonial rape. In most cases
the issues of sexual violence and domestic violence within families and families are normally
against women. The subject of violence against women has gained international attention for
almost a century. In majority of the countries, marital rape either is excluded from the criminal
law or is illegal but again it is widely accepted. Authorities are normally reluctant when it comes
to enforcing these laws. Some of the things that hinder such laws from being enforced are lack of
public knowledge that sexual intercourse in marriages without consent is illegal (Renzetti &
Yocum, 2013). The reluctant to also criminalize and prosecute marital rape has been attributed to
the traditional view of marriage, ideas about female and male sexuality, those cultural
expectations about the roles of a wife to her husband and interpretations of religious doctrines.
These views are common in many parts of the world.
It is in western countries that these opinions of marriage and sexuality started to be
confronted, that was in 1960s and 1970s, and it was mostly done by second-wave feminists. This
led to the acknowledgment of the woman’s right to self- determination of all problems relating to
her body. It is in the 20th century that most countries started criminalizing marital rape though it
is still unclear, in many countries, whether marital rape is covered by the ordinary rape law or by
general statues barring violence such as assault and battery law.
The impression that by marriage a woman offers irrevocable approval for her husband to have
sex with her anytime he demands is one of the roots of the notion of a marital exemption from
rape laws. Sir Matthew Hale (1960-1676) in History of the Pleas of the Crown, he wrote that,
“the husband cannot be guilty of the rape committed by himself upon his lawfully wife, for by

this mutual consent and contract the wife hath given up herself in this kind to her husband, which
she cannot retract”. The implication was that, once two people are unified as one by marriage, a
spouse could no longer be indicted on raping one’s spouse because this was seen as being
charged of raping oneself.
Child sexual abuse
According to research, of all victims, rape victims, 2 or 3 are under 18. It is in puberty that
sexual feelings emerge. Most of the youths normally engage in sexual activity exploring their
sexualities despite their parents being against it. Normally this is done against the parent’s
wishes (Rellini, 2014). Normal pubescent sexual exploration should be different from child
sexual abuse and rape. Sexual abuse occurs when and adult takes advantage of a child or this act
is done by an older child. When children are forced into physical activities without their express
consent regardless of their perpetrator’s age then we term it as rape or sexual abuse. It necessary
does not mean that the child has to abuse physically, this can occur in different ways.
This can occur when a child is being forced to look at pornographic materials so that the child
can observe the sexual activities of others. Forcing children to take part in the creation of
pornographic materials is still another type of sexual assault. Often kids are always coerced into
taking part in such activities through threats. Children often feel unable to talk to anybody about
such occurrences even to their parents. They may fail to bring up the case for months or years.
This might be because of the threats they have received or intense shame or they might even feel
guilty that they were the main reason why such occurrences took place.

Elders
In nursing homes, sexual abuse is one of the most common forms of abuses. Elders fall
victims of sexual violence more often than we may think. Sexual abuse on elders is any kind of
action against an elderly person that is unwelcomed and sexual in origin. Those people involved
are usually older than 60 years of age. In most cases these people cannot communicate their
disapproval of the behavior against them or even communicate consent of the activity. Those
signs and indicators of sexual abuse against the elderly can either be behavioral or physical. They
range from; sustaining a pelvic injury, having problems walking, torn or bloody underwear,
developing sexually transmitted diseases, bleeding from the anus or genital, panic attack, social
or emotional withdrawal from others and a times even suicide attempt.
There exist very slight research on the subject on sexual abuses on elders and these studies are
complicated. What has really come up is that these victims in most cases cannot talk well enough
to ascertain what occurred or who their wrongdoer was, though their common perpetrators
include friends, nursing home assistant family affiliates and other types of care givers (Hardy,
2009). According to a research carried out by Pennsylvania Coalition against Rape, women are
likely to be targets of elder asexual abuse and about 30% of these elderly victims who are over
the age of 65 do not report their cases to the authority. 83% of targets of elder sexual abuse are in
institutional care centers such as nursing homes and 67% of those who abuse these elders were
family members.
What causes sexual abuse?
Sexual abuse has become an activity that is wide spread across the globe. There are a lot of
factors that can drive an individual to commit such offenses and they include: alcohol and drugs.

One of the important factors associated with sexual abuse has been alcohol it has been observed
that sexual assaults in most cases occur in setting where alcohol is consumed. Alcohol in most
cases has an effect of reducing inhibitions therefore leading to some behaviors that in normal
cases could have been inhibited in any situation (Hardy, 2014).
Peer is also another cause of sexual abuse, sexual aggression behavior among youths has been
linked with having delinquent peers and being linked to gang membership.it is in this groups that
gang rape can emerge.in most cases, gang rape is considered by men as an act of punishing
women with immoral behaviors such as women wearing short skirts or drinking or being in love.
For such reasons, in the communities, gang rape is not seen as a crime and is often sanctioned by
the elders.
Perpetrators who abuse children sexually are believed to be men and women who are aiming
at meeting their own need with adults so this makes them turn to children to get satisfy their
needs. In most cases such men and women have gone through a history of sexual and physical
abuse or even emotional abuse with no help (Jimenez, 2010). Most of these perpetrators only get
attracted to children teenagers and in most cases they are known to the child to the child’s
family. Their first step is always to groom the child where they present the child with gifts and a
lot of attention. They select victims who seem to be susceptible and appear different or come
from a disturbed family.
The closest individual affected by sexual violence is the victim of the survivor but the impact
of sexual violence normally goes past the victim. His or her closet family tends to be affected
and even the community at large. The reaction to sexual assaults varies from one survivor to the
next. Personal style, context of the survivor’s life and culture are some of the things that will

affect an individual’s reaction (Gopalan, 2018). Some people will prefer to keep their emotions
hidden while others will want to express their emotions. These victims may feel embarrassed,
guilty and even feel like blaming themselves. Others would want to isolate themselves from
places where people are this may lead to depression and even drive an individual to committing
suicide.
When somebody is a casualty of sexual violence, it upsets not only the victim or the survivor
but also people around them are also affected. His or her friends, spouse, classmates, partners,
parents and even co-workers will be affected. In most cases this becomes so difficult for their
loved ones and they do not know what to say or how to react. The family might also withdraw
themselves from the victim especially in cases where it is the spouse whose been assaulted,
leaving the victim more confused. Others become very judgmental and even decide to exclude
themselves from the victim making the victim traumatized.
These actions may be carried out consciously or unconsciously. The family might want or
force the victim into things that he or she is not in support of or make the victim live in a way
that it beneficial to only them for example force the victim to go public when that is not what he
or she prefers to do (Ewing, 2014). In most cases this happens due to the ignorance of the family
on how to handle such cases.
The most affected group of sexual assault is normally the children. Sexual abuse that occurs
during a child’s development can have very severe effects on certain developmental processes
ranging from cognitive style, emotional regulation and coping mechanisms. The most commonly
known effect of sexual assault on children is post-traumatic stress disorder, inappropriate sexual
behaviors and psychological stress (Formicola, 2019). One third of those children abused

sexually do not display these symptoms making it even more difficult to help them. In most
cases these children become depressed and anxious. They are normally fearful with social
isolation behaviors. They have problems adjusting in schools and this might lead to school
dropout.
In those children who are in their adolescence stage react sexual abuse differently (Coulborn,
2014). Some of them run away from home because of feeling of not belonging. These memories
lead them to get involved in illegal activities like doing drugs or even use alcohol therefore
ruining their lives. The anger that they harbor within them and the pain may lead them into
joining gangs as a way of covering their shame or due to thrust of revenge. Others may be
affected by this act and start initiating themselves early into sexual activities (Calkins & Jeglic,
2018). It is thorough such acts that they might end up contracting certain diseases like STI or
even HIV/AIDS. This normally occurs in situation where the victim takes time before reporting
the incident because of fear or shame. Most of these youths have problems when it comes to
dating and may even start abusing others as a way of revenge.
Sexual assault can also throw a lot of fear in the community. In the workplaces, schools and
even affect the culture and religious ways of a community.
There are numerous ways that this behavior could be curbed. When it comes to children, we
teach our children allot of things and forget to teach them about those things that parent’s term as
private due to fear. Parents should gain the courage and teach their children about body parts.
Educate them that some body parts are private and about body boundary. Make them aware that
people should not touch their private parts and that if any one attempts to do so they should

report to you (Davidson & Gottschalk, 2010). Parents should encourage their children into
talking to them and telling them about anything that happens to them and they should not fear
Social norms that protect against violence should be promoted; this can be carried through the
use of bystander approaches (Rellini, 2012). Men and women both young and old can be
mobilized as allies. The government through the ministry of education can incorporate sexual
education as part of the curriculum that our students go through. Youths and those who are at
adolescent stage can be taught more on social emotional learning. They could also get teachings
on healthy dating and intimate relationships skills. They should also be educated on healthy
sexuality and why it is so important in promoting it and be let in on empowerment based
training.
Opportunities that empower and support women should also be developed through which
women are strengthened. Creative protective environments should also be developed. Safety in
school should be improved and monitored. In workplaces there should be policies that that
protect each and every individual, regardless of their sexuality, against certain behaviors.
Employees and even employers should learn how to pay attention to their boundaries and if
someone is consistently getting close or breaking the rules then awareness should be made. This
can head off unwanted encounters before they happen.
Countries should come up with organizations that fight for the married women and men who
are at the risks of getting abused in their marriages. Protective laws should be clearly stipulated
on what is termed as sexual abuse or assault in marriages and actions taken (Chapin, 2017).
Frequent inspections should be carried out frequently in the elderly homes or centers to check

and make sure that our elderly are living under great care and nothing like sexual assault is
taking place in such places.
Those victims or survivors should be incorporated into programmers that can help them
through their recovery. Victim centered services should be developed where treatment for
victims can be offered. Guidance and counseling should be offered to both the victims and their
family on how to handle such cases. Even in school programs aimed at reducing bullying, peer
pressure and other related behaviors should be started.
These perpetuators should be brought to justice and those who have not responded to
reprimands be disciplined by the legislature, laws and policies. This will serve as a lesson to
others and even bring closer to the victims hence help them with their recovery process.
The easiest way to avoid sexual assault is through education. People should be educated as
from when they are kids; at this particular age bracket they can easily comprehend the
significance of approval in sexual relationship. According to research, the main cause of sexual
assault is the manner in which the society talks and thinks of women. Kids grow up exposed to
these phrases and think that a woman is inferior. This makes them view woman more as objects
than human beings. Children should be taught on how important is to respect each other. Sexual
assault if not pre vented at an early age will continue to bring fear in the world and among
families.
We should take it our responsibility and fight such actions we should not view it as a problem
to only those people who have fallen victims to it. This is a problem that nocks at anybody’s
doors and no one requests for it. The earlier we become rational to such activities and work