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07 August 2005
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Help for Adult Victims Of Child Abuse. A non-profit making organisation based in the UK dedicated to provide help, support and information to any adult who is suffering from past childhood abuse. |
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| Article Descriptions (Click on a title to read the full article) | |
 Ritual
of Reconciliation:An Alternative to Litigation by Mic Hunter Psy.D., LP, LMFT |
In recent years increasing numbers of survivors of childhood sexual abuse have sued their perpetrators for damages. Litigation serves to punish those responsible for the abuse, focuses society's attention on the problem of sexual abuse, and provides the victimized person some financial compensation for suffering experienced. Since the process by its very nature is adversarial it can be time consuming and emotionally costly for the survivor. |
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The Legal Consequences of Speaking Out About Abuse |
Acknowledging the realities of abuse is an important part of the recovery of all survivors. In many cases, this acknowledgment is made publicly. There are, however, serious legal consequences associated with public statements about acts of abuse, and these consequences should not be overlooked in the grief, anger, and catharsis of confronting the abuse or the abuser. |
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When Survivors Quit Smoking |
In the United States, there are approximately 46 million smokers and 44 million former smokers. Although the percentage of the population that smokes has declined steadily during the past 37 years, reaching a new low of 25.5 percent in 1990, Americans still consume as many cigarettes per year (525 billion) as they did in 1963, the year before the Surgeon General's initial report addressing the bad news about smoking. |
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Female Perpetration of Child Sexual Abuse: An Overview of the Problem |
Seven years ago, a client of Massachusetts psychologist Marcia Turner said something that shocked her. The woman, who had been sexually abused throughout her own childhood and was living in a house with other adults and their children, said, "The little three-year-old girl in my household is coming on to me, and wants me to have sex with her. I think I will, because I know that I will be gentle and kind to her, and it's inevitable that she is going to be abused." |
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Survivor Issues in Group Therapy |
In 1989, we began working with female survivors of childhood sexual abuse in small, supportive groups. Survivors frequently feel isolated and believe that they are unique in being subjected to the trauma of abuse and the associated neglect, loss of trust, and loss of self-esteem. Survivors often face post-trauma symptoms of depression and anxiety, and have trouble maintaining personal relationships. In bringing women together in structured, confidential, and supportive groups, we help survivors "normalize" their experiences and post-trauma responses to abuse, and enhance their progress in individual therapy. Factors that influence the group members' feelings and self-images re recurring topics for discussion in survivor groups. |
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Assessing the Cost of Trauma |
Looking at the correlation between physical and mental health problems and a history of sexual abuse will require us to reassess how we analyze and diagnose physical and mental illness. This, of course, will take time and cost money. |
| Preparing for Surgery: Suggestions for Survivors |
Impending surgery generates a certain amount of anxiety in almost everyone. The thought of being put to sleep and operated on, no matter how routine and safe the procedure, is unpleasant at best. Many people fear waking up during the surgery. Others fear not waking up at all. For many survivors of childhood sexual abuse, those natural fears of surgery are intensified by the fears that their bodies will be completely given over to and invaded by another person. However therapeutic and necessary the procedure, it calls up powerful emotions of helplessness and can re-create old feelings of being victimized. |
| Trust and Guidance |
From "Journey to the Heart - Daily Meditations on the Path to Freeing Your Soul" by Melody Beattie Trust That Guidance Will Come Trust and act on the guidance you have now. |
| Coping with Stress |
The following can help you to cope with stress. It is up to you to choose the approach that best suits your lifestyle and personality. |
| Addressing a Spouse's Fears About Parenting |
I saw in Moving Forward that you answer questions from husbands of survivors. I would like your opinion on the following: My wife was severely abused physically by her mother and father. Consequently, she has many fears about being hurt and she is very shy and stays away from people. She has one girlfriend but doesn't see her much because she is afraid that she's bothering her if she calls. |
| Deaf Survivors of Sexual abuse |
At a time of relatively widespread media attention focused on sexual child abuse issues, one group in our society remains largely unrecognized: survivors of sexual child abuse who are deaf. Stories about the abuse of deaf children have not drawn the attention of the national press. In fact, there has been a notable absence of dialogue about sexual abuse even in the Deaf media. |
| Backlash: A Look at the Abuse-Related Amnesia and Delayed Memory Controversy |
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| Just Another "Special Interest Group"? |
Unlike other complex and controversial issues of the day, health care reform isn't important only to so-called special interest groups. In fact, health care reform is of special interest to all of us, regardless of the backgrounds we inherit. The devoted lifelong partner of an elderly person whose medical needs threaten the couple's financial stability and the survivor of sexual child abuse whose employer provides minimal, if any, medical and mental health benefits share a similar nightmare: that their needs cannot or will not be met under the current health care system |
| A Person of Color: Overcoming Barriers to Group Participation |
I am an African-American male whose abuse, perpetrated by multiple abusers, began at age four and lasted for 15 years. The camaraderie and understanding of the groups I worked with helped me rebuild my self-esteem and regain control of my Life. |
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Revictimization: Examining Its Occurrence in the Lives of Survivors |
So often, survivors' stories involve not one form of victimization, but many. In fact, study after study reveals that a significant percentage of battered women, runaways, rape victims, prostitutes, prisoners, and homeless women have been physically and/or sexually abused as children. |
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Sibling Sexual Abuse: An Emerging Awareness of an Ignored Childhood Trauma |
The 90s may well turn out to be the decade of disclosure, when long-held family secrets are revealed and both victims and perpetrators of domestic violence are acknowledged as such. In spite of the recent and sudden swell of sexual abuse-related testimonies and literature, one is still greatly challenged to unearth information on what may well be one of the last taboos: sibling sexual abuse -- the sexual abuse of one sibling by another. |
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Research Findings on the Sexual Abuse of Males |
A major difficulty in the study of child sexual abuse and adult survivors is accurately assessing occurrence. Incidence -- the number of cases occurring in a given time frame (usually years) -- is expressed as a number or rate (e.g.,100,000 per year or 1.5 per 1,000 children). Prevalence -- the proportion of a population -- is usually expressed as percentage (such as 20% of all boys). |
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Survivors and the Food Connection |
Many of us survived the experience of childhood sexual trauma, in part, through our relationships with food. We used treats to comfort ourselves. We compulsively stuffed ourselves with food to avoid feeling anger, grief, and frustration -- or our own sexuality. We gained weight to protect ourselves from revictimizatim. We starved ourselves, driven by an innerfear of being ugly and unacceptable or by the belief that once we started eating, we'd be unable to stop. |
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Your Thinking
Grows Up |
*Many of the features of your mental set originated in your childhood, before you developed the ability to think as you do now - abstractly. Abstract thinking begins to develop in adolescence and really comes into its own in adulthood. The way you thought as a child is very different from how you think now. |
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Holiday
Cheer or Fear |
Why is it that so many people look forward to the holidays while others can't wait for them to come and go quickly? The reasons are complex. Holiday seasons are times of the year that symbolize family unity, friendships, giving and receiving, and celebration - or are they? |
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Beyond
Surviving |
Perspective may not be everything but it certainly plays a major role in moving from one position to another. While leading the Empowerment Group at the Whitman Walker Clinic for people living with AIDS, my partner and I encouraged group members to regain control of their lives in every way possible. One way was to shed the victim label. Rather than defining themselves as PWAs (People with AIDS) they chose PLAs (People Living with AIDS) |
| Plaintiff Anonymity: Filing Civil Suits Under a Pseudonym |
Survivors who are considering suing the perpetrators of their abuse have many difficult issues to face. One of them is whether they are willing to identify themselves as survivors in a public court document. Because of the upsurge in civil cases on behalf of crime victims, particularly victims of childhood sexual abuse, sexual assault, and hate crimes, an increasing number of cases are being filed under pseudonyms. |
| Taking Control of Personal Finances |
As a survivor of sexual child abuse, I've become acquainted with a number of other survivors for whom I have deep affection and respect. Over the years, I have learned that many of us struggle daily with issues that don't appear in articles about the aftereffects of sexual abuse. |
| What's "Wrong" With You |
Admitting your weaknesses is a powerful way to begin improving them |
| Abused Because of Deafness? |
Are deaf children particularly vulnerable to sexual abuse? Therapeutic professionals engage in heated debate when this question is raised, a debate based on concerns that underlie many discussions in the field of deafness and mental health. |
| Kiddie Porn |
THE fastest-growing industry in America today is a brutalizing and depraved business—child vice. It employs more than half a million youngsters. Most of them are runaways, from homes to big cities, where they become vulnerable, easy prey to pimps and pornographers. |
| Rape at home |
“EVERY child has the right to loving relationships, including sexual, with a parent, sibling, other responsible adults or children.”—Article Seven of “A Child’s Sexual Bill of Rights,” by the leader of Childhood Sexuality Circle. |
| A time to heal |
An article about a person who is everyones shoulder to cry on but turns out to be as hurt and as scared as everyone else. |
| Child Molesting |
FOR the young mother, it was a nightmare come true. When her four-year-old daughter complained of abdominal pains, she took her to see a doctor. The doctor, after a thorough examination, gravely told the mother that her little girl was the victim of sexual molestation. She had been raped. |