Keeping our kids safe can take a lot of work, especially keeping track of all the risks and threats.
Child abuse and neglect are more likely to happen because of a mix of personal, social, community, and relational issues. Children are not to blame for the harm they receive, but some things have been shown to make them more likely to be abused.
Here are some tips that make a kid’s sexual abuse more likely, along with some ways to lower those risks.
This list isn’t meant to scare you but to give you tools to protect and build up your child.
Low Self-Esteem
Due to their wants for love, acceptance, and admiration, kids with low self-esteem are more likely to do something terrible.
Bullied kids or kids whose parents have low self-esteem are especially likely to feel this way. Kids’ Self-Interest Increases with Positive Influences
- Appreciation and gift-giving increase interest.
- Extra attention boosts self-esteem.
A child may only see the value in the rules, respect, and permission they are entitled to if they feel they have worth.
Poor Communication
It’s easier for a predator to groom a child who doesn’t feel like they can be honest with their parents. This can make the child feel distant, alone, and unsafe.
Poor Parental Communication with Children consequences:
- Children often keep secrets about new adults, bad behaviour, and body changes.
- Lack of open communication can lead to secretive handling of sexual abuse.
- Fear of punishment.
- Shame or judgment.
- Overwork in parents.
Disabilities
There is a three times higher risk of sexual abuse for disabled children.
Child Abuse Causes
- Need for personal care.
- Desire for acceptance.
- Dependence on others.
- Physical limitations preventing escape.
- Communication issues hindering abuse reporting.
- Lack of education on healthy sexuality and abuse.
Domestic Abuse
When different kinds of abuse, neglect, and mistreatment happen in a home, | There is a high chance that sexual abuse will also occur. For example, this is very true in houses where there is physical abuse.
Unstable, unsafe, and poorly communicated homes are often the result of domestic violence. Another link could be that one or more family members abuse drugs or alcohol.
This all raises the chance of sexual abuse of children. Danielle A. Black, a researcher, says that family sexual abuse of a child is six times more likely to happen if the mother is a victim of relationship violence.
Stressful Home Environment
Kids who don’t trust themselves. Especially at home, they are easy targets for an adult who offers safety and stability. Kids having a hard time at home may also feel like they can’t talk to a parent about their problems because the parent has too many issues and may not understand.
Protective Factors for Child Abuse
Individual Protective Factors:
- Caregivers who foster safe, positive relationships with children.
- Caregivers who provide emotional support and meet basic needs.
- Caregivers with a college degree or higher and steady employment.
Family Protective Factors:
- Strong social support networks and stable relationships.
- Caregivers who enforce household rules and monitor children.
- Caring adults outside the family as role models or mentors.
Community Protective Factors:
Access to safe housing, high-quality preschool, nurturing childcare, safe after-school programs, medical care, financial help, and family-friendly work opportunities.
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