Understanding Victims

of Child Sexual Abuse and

Exploitation
Factors to Consider:
1. Age
2. Physical/ Mental Capacity
3. Gender
4. Culture
5. Support
The Four Traumagenic Dynamics
1. Traumatic Sexualization
2. Stigmatization
3. Betrayal
4. Powerlessness
 1. Traumatic Sexualization
- Simply means that the victim learned something
inappropriate about sex due due to the sexual abuse
experience
 Traumatic Sexualization

Dynamics (events/incidents)
● Child rewarded for sexual behavior inappropriate to
developmental level.
● Offender exchanges attention and affection for sex.
● Sexual parts of child fetishized.
● Offender transmits misconceptions about sexual behavior and
sexual morality.
● Conditioning of sexual activity with negative emotions and
memories.
*** acts with sexual connotations and engaging in sexual intercourse is being explained by the perpetrators as the
only way to show love and appreciation to people that are kind and helpful
 Traumatic Sexualization
Psychological impact (effects of the dynamics)
● Increased salience of sexual issues- tends to put sexual
meaning in all actions/things
● Confusion about sexual identity.
● Confusion about sexual norms.
● Confusion of sex with love and caregetting or caregiving.
● Negative associations towards sexual activities and arousal
sensations- difficulty to accept safe touches/ no more safe
touch
● Aversion to sex or intimacy.
 Traumatic Sexualization
Behavioural manifestations (effects of the psychological
impact)
● Sexual preoccupations and compulsive sexual behaviors.
● Precocious sexual activity.- advanced mag-isip
● Aggressive sexual behaviors.
● Promiscuity.
● Prostitution.
● Sexual dysfunctions: flashbacks, difficulty in arousal, orgasm.
● Avoidance of or phobic reactions to sexual intimacy.
● Inappropriate sexualization of parenting.
 2. Betrayal
- An issue for any type of abuse but due to the
NATURE and SECRECY of sex in our society,
betrayal goes even deeper for SA’ed children.
This is especially important to consider when the
abuser is within the family where the child learns
support and intimacy.
 Betrayal

Dynamics
● Trust and vulnerability manipulated (‘ginamit lang”)
● Violation of expectation that others will provide care and
protection (“scholarship” strategy)
● Child's well- being disregarded.
● Lack of support and protection from parent(s) and trusted
individuals
 Betrayal

Psychological Impact
Grief, depression.
●

● Extreme dependency.
● Impaired ability to judge trustworthiness of
others.
● Mistrust, particularly of men (gender of perp)
● Anger, hostility.
 Betrayal

Behavioral manifestations
● Clinging (masyadong clingy)
● Vulnerability to subsequent abuse and exploitation (gawin
lahat para makuha ang gusto)
● Allowing own children to be victimized (normal na sa kanya
kasi at wala siyang magagawa)
● Isolation.
● Discomfort in intimate relationships.
● Marital problems.
● Aggressive behavior.
 3. Stigmatization
- How others respond to the event, or how the the survivor
perceives how others respond.

Working with the community to better understand CSA will go a

long way to mitigate this dynamic. For instance, help the family
to understand that the abuse is never the survivor’s fault and
that abuse is just another bad thing that can happen to
anybody
 Stigmatization

Dynamics
● Offender blames, denigrates (belittles/ “idadanes”) victim.
● Offender and others pressure child for secrecy.
● Child infers attitudes of shame about activities.
● Others blame child for events.
● Victim is stereotyped as "damaged goods".
 Stigmatization

Psychological impact
● Guilt.
● Shame.
● Lowered self-esteem.
● Sense of differentness from others.
 Stigmatization

Behavioral manifestations
● Isolation.
● Drug or alcohol abuse.
● Criminal involvement.
● Self-mutilation.
● Suicide.
 4. Powerlessness
Dynamics
● Body territory invaded against the child's wishes.
● Vulnerability to invasion continues over time.
● Offender uses force or trickery to involve child.
● Child feels unable to protect self and halt abuse.
● Repeated experience of fear.
● Child is unable to make others believe.
 Powerlessness

Psychological impact
● Anxiety, fear.
● Lowered sense of efficacy.
● Perception of self as victim.
● Need to control identification with the aggressor.
 Powerlessness

Behavioral manifestations
● Nightmares.
● Phobias.
● Somatic complaints: eating and sleeping disorder.
● Depression.
● Dissociation.
● Running away.
● School problems, truancy.
● Employment problems.
● Vulnerability to subsequent victimization.
● Aggressive behavior, bullying.
● Delinquency.