Domestic Violence Day 15: Introduction to Sexual Abuse

For October’s Domestic Violence Awareness Month, I have been posting a series on the various abuses.

So far, I have written the following:
Day 1:   Domestic Violence Day 1: Verbal Abuse.
Day 2:  Domestic Violence Day 2: Emotional Abuse.
Day 3:   Domestic Violence Day 3: Physical Abuse.
Day 4:   Domestic Violence Day 4: Psychological Abuse.
Day 5:   Domestic Violence Day 5: Child Abuse.
Day 6:   Domestic Violence Day 6: Elder Abuse.
Day 7:   Domestic Violence Day 7: Spiritual Abuse.
Day 8:   Domestic Violence Day 8: Cyber-stalking and Cyber-bullying.
Day 9:   Domestic Violence Day 9: Drug Abuse/Substance Abuse.
Day 10:  Domestic Violence Day 10: Alcohol Abuse.
Day 11:  Domestic Violence Day 11: Bullying.
Day 12:  Domestic Violence Day 12: Financial or Economic Abuse.
Day 13:  Domestic Violence Day 13: Workplace Abuse or Workplace Bullying.
Day 14:  Domestic Violence Day 14: Stalking.

Now, I will proceed with the next abuse. The abuse that I want to talk about today is one of the deepest and hardest abuses to talk about. In fact, I have decided to make this a general introduction to the topic and then proceed with a series and discuss the various types individually. This difficult topic will include the various sexual abuses.

Unfortunately, sexual abuse and violence comes in many forms. In order to better understand the wide range of sexual assault and violence that can occur, I will provide information on the different types of rape and sexual violence. A general definition of sexual abuse is as follows:

sexual abuse

1. The forcing of unwanted sexual activity by one person on another, as by the use of threats or coercion.

2. Sexual activity that is deemed improper or harmful, as between an adult and a minor or with a person of diminished mental capacity.

All of the sexual abuses are so personal and many are hidden deep within the recesses of our minds. We tend to push these back, intentionally trying to forget or even trying to explain away how it could have happened. Many victims live with guilt, shame, and confusion.  Many have felt that it is easier not to talk about it. But, we have to all realize that it is not the victim’s fault and realize that  healing comes when these wounds are exposed.

References:

http://www.rainn.org/ and http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Sexual+Abuse