| "I just hate myself. I keep thinking there's | | | | prison inmates were found to be abused as |
| something I should have done, should of said | | | | children. One in three girls and one in five |
| to stop it. I just feel so dirty." - Lisa. | | | | boys are sexually abused by an adult at some |
| "Childhood sexual abuse is…an | | | | time during their childhood. Most sexual |
| overwhelming, damaging, and humiliating | | | | abusers are someone in the family or someone |
| assault on a child's mind, soul, and | | | | the child knows. Child abuse is far more |
| body…The abuse invades every facet of | | | | likely to occur in the child's home than in a |
| one's existence," says the Right to | | | | day care center. |
| Innocence, by Beverly Engel. | | | | |
| | | | Often the severe emotional damage to abused |
| During the early years when a child develops | | | | children does not surface until adolescence |
| personal worth and learns to love and trust, | | | | or later, when many abused children become |
| "this process of trust building gets | | | | abusing parents. An adult who was abused as a |
| derailed," says Dr.J.P. Gannon. The abuser | | | | child often has trouble establishing intimate |
| robs the child of any safety, privacy and | | | | personal relationships. These men and women |
| self-respect. This may lead to depression, | | | | may have trouble with physical closeness, |
| low self-esteem, guilt, and rage. Many will | | | | touching, intimacy, and trust as adults. They |
| turn their destructive feelings on their | | | | are also at higher risk for anxiety, |
| friendships, marriages, and on their own | | | | depression, substance abuse, medical illness, |
| self. | | | | and problems at school or work. Without |
| | | | proper treatment, physically abused children |
| Statistics are alarming! In one area 84% of | | | | can be damaged for life. |