Sexual Abuse Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Sexual Abuse - Essay Example Many people suffer from sexual abuse, thus this offend should be paid much attention to. The reasons and motives of sexual abuse should be carefully analyzed in order to understand offender’s behavior to provide people with relevant instructions how to avoid danger. Many people think that sexual abuse is commonly committed by strangers. The definition of sexual abuse contradicts this opinion. Sexual abuse is rather defined as unlawful sexual act committed against a person by a relative or an acquaintance. This commonly applied definition testifies that sexual abuse is seldom committed by a stranger from the dark alley. Such cases happen, but they are not frequently met. According to the article, â€Å"Sexual violence: prevalence, dynamics and consequences†, â€Å" the perpetrator of a sexual assault may be a date, an acquaintance, a friend, a family member, an intimate partner or former intimate partner, or a complete stranger, but more often than not, is someone known to the victim. There is no stereotypical perpetrator; sexually violent men come from all backgrounds, rich and poor, academic and uneducated, religious and non-religious. Perpetrators may be persons in positions of authority who are respected and trusted (e.g. a doctor, teacher, tourist guide, priest, police officer) and thus less likely to be suspected of sexual violence† (â€Å"Sexual violence: prevalence, dynamics and consequences†). ... It is interesting that nowadays not only women become victims of rape, men also suffer from sexual abuse. However, in the majority of cases violent sexual acts are still committed by men (Denov, 2004). The first question that offender is asked in the police office is â€Å"why did you commit this crime?†. Therefore, the main task of criminologists is to reveal the reasons behind the crimes, the state of the offender, his thoughts and impulses before committing the crime. The researchers came to the conclusion that, first of all, sexual desire seldom becomes the reason of sexual abuse. A violent sexual act is an aggressive act, and usually the main wish of an offender is to dominate over women and control them. The sexual violence is directed on the humiliation of person’s dignity in order to make the offender’s self-esteem higher. Thus, rape is not only physical, but also moral abuse that has long-term consequences. In the article â€Å"Sexual violence: prevalen ce, dynamics and consequences†, it is stated that â€Å"the health consequences of sexual violence are numerous and varied, and include physical and psychological effects, both in the short-term and in the long-term. Most significantly perhaps, sexual abuse can have devastating long-term psychological effects, influencing and radically altering a person’s entire life course† (â€Å"Sexual violence: prevalence, dynamics and consequences†). In order to reveal the main reasons of rape, it is essential to analyze the social and cultural factors. The problem is that many social and cultural factors contribute to the problem of sexual violence. The prejudices, which have always existed in our society, prescribe that women always have subordinate