{"id":16119,"date":"2022-09-23T11:00:05","date_gmt":"2022-09-23T10:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/?p=16119"},"modified":"2023-03-08T10:08:55","modified_gmt":"2023-03-08T10:08:55","slug":"were-you-sexually-abused-as-a-child","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/were-you-sexually-abused-as-a-child.htm","title":{"rendered":"Were you Sexually Abused as a Child? How to Tell"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"By:

By: Wade Harris<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

by Andrea M. Darcy<\/span><\/p>\n

Suspect you were sexually abused as a child?<\/strong> You are far from alone. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimates<\/a> that 7.5% of British adults experienced some form of sexual abuse before the age of 16.<\/p>\n

And real rates might be higher,<\/strong> given that it’s also thought around a third of children abused by an adult tell no one.<\/p>\n

What is sexual abuse?<\/h2>\n

It\u2019s important to understand what qualifies as sexual abuse<\/a> before dismissing an experience you might have had as ‘not a big deal’. In fact definitions of child sexual abuse have recently been updated<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

First of all, sexual abuse does not have to be between a child and a ‘grownup’.<\/strong> It can be an older sibling or another child who abuses you<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Abuse doesn’t even need to involve touch<\/h2>\n

It is now recognised that sexual abuse does not even have to involve physicality to be extraordinarily damaging to a child and the future adult they will become. Sexual abuse can can be any<\/span> situation where a child is exploited for the sexual pleasure of another.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Called ‘non contact’ or ‘covert’ sexual abuse, this can look like someone who constantly<\/strong> exposed their body to you, forced you to expose your body, showed you pornography, or constantly talked about sexual things to you.<\/p>\n

Examples of covert abuse are a <\/strong>father who always talks about a daughter’s body ‘being too sexual’ when she is going through puberty. Or a mother who strips a child and makes them stand naked in their room for hours as ‘punishment’ for ‘being bad’. Again, such examples can both result in the same long-term symptoms as other forms of sexual abuse.<\/span><\/p>\n

Wouldn\u2019t I remember if I was sexually abused as a child?<\/h2>\n

\"sexuallyVictims of sexual abuse often do not<\/em> remember the experience. <\/strong>A wiped out memory for certain parts of your childhood can be an indicator trauma of some form took place.<\/p>\n

Children can’t just walk away if they find themselves<\/strong> in a difficult or terrifying situation. So ‘forgetting’ becomes your brain’s way of surviving and coping. And we carry this coping mechanism into adulthood.<\/p>\n

So have I been sexually abused? Knowing the signs<\/h2>\n

Sexual abuse can cause long-term issues in your behaviours, relationships, and <\/span>sex life, as well as in the ways you treat yourself. It can even effect your physical wellbeing.<\/p>\n

Trauma symptoms<\/h3>\n

Being sexually abused as a child can cause long-term symptoms of trauma, now called ‘complex post-traumatic stress disorder<\/a>‘ or ‘c-PTSD’. \u00a0This can look like:<\/p>\n