When The Words Can't Come Out - Behavior Often, But Not Always, Speaks
Sexual abuse is innately psychological - it affects a person's sense of
body autonomy, self worth, ability to trust others, properly identify
safe and unsafe situations, and to simply focus on daily tasks in an
efficient and healthy manner.
There is no exact 'road map' for how the brain will respond to sexual abuse, there are a multitude of factor that come into play - the child's family situation, their own age and mental capacity, who the offender is and how the abuse is being perpetrated, just to list a few. To say that there is a 'typical' response to abuse is not only ignorant, it's also hurtful to survivors essentially shaming them for not acting the 'right' way, as if their behavior somehow lessens the impact of the abuse and puts blame on the subject of the abuse.
There is no exact 'road map' for how the brain will respond to sexual abuse, there are a multitude of factor that come into play - the child's family situation, their own age and mental capacity, who the offender is and how the abuse is being perpetrated, just to list a few. To say that there is a 'typical' response to abuse is not only ignorant, it's also hurtful to survivors essentially shaming them for not acting the 'right' way, as if their behavior somehow lessens the impact of the abuse and puts blame on the subject of the abuse.