Sexual Abuse

Essay by Dirt-Migirt©A+, January 1997

download word file, 2 pages 2.7

Downloaded 141 times

The clearinghouse on child abuse and neglect information reports that "One in four girls will be sexually abused before they turn 14 and one in three will be sexually abused before they turn 18." Boys aren't in the clear either. They also reported that "One in seven boys will be sexually abused before they turn 18." You ask "How could this be happening?" This is happening because child molesters are being let off too easy! In this speech I am going to convince you that we need tougher penalties on child molesters!

The purpose of this speech is to inform you that sex offenders are getting away too easy.

Sexual abuse has horrible effects on children. Children who have been sexually abused suffer from devastating psychological breakdown and sometimes death. The children develop mistrust and will have problems in their future relationships. Also sexual abuse makes sexual abusers. The Child Abuse Help Book says "82% of child molesters were molested when they were children."

If you think it isn't a big problem and it won't affect you or someone you love then you're wrong. There are 300,000 to 500,000 reported every year in the united states and experts say "for each case that is reported there are two more that aren't." Why in Virginia Beach alone in 1993 the social services office counted 6,613 sexual abuse cases reported.

The reason only a third of the cases are reported because most of the time the abuser is a friend or family member. In fact the book Child Abuse: an american epidemic says "only 28% of child molestors are strangers." Most of the time the abuser is the money maker in the family and the child fears that if the molestor gets taken away that they will have nothing. If it...