512209-12-3LO AID: 5766 | 6/3/2017
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Any kind of physical contact which is forced, pressurized and inappropriate is termed as sexual abuse. Both children and adults are victims of sexual abuse. The three main types of sexual abuse seen in the society are - pedophilia, incest and rape.
Pedophilia : Childhood sexual abuse is termed as pedophilia. Inflicting any kind of physical contact on a child whose upper age limit can vary from 12-19 is childhood sexual abuse. Many mental disorders in later stages of life are attributed to childhood sexual abuse. The consequences of childhood sexual abuse are both long term and short term. Short term consequences noticed are fear, post traumatic stress disorder, low self esteem. Long term consequences are aversion towards sex or promiscuity towards sex, dissociative identity disorder etc. But many times the accusations made by children are not trusted and taken seriously. And in other cases children forget memories of sexual abuse in their early life and remember them only in adulthood during their visits to therapists.
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Incest : Culturally worldwide sexual relationships are prohibited between a brother and sister, father and daughter and mother and son. This practice is termed as incest. It is a taboo universally to offend practice of incest. This is because the children born by violating practice of incest are found to have mental and physical abnormalities.
Incidents of incest are usually reported. Step daughters are most vulnerable victims of incest. A very rarely observed incest is between mother and son. Fathers usually do not stop with once child. They tend to offend incest by getting involved with every daughter once she attains puberty. Majority of victims of incest offenders are girls.
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Rape : A sexual activity leading to a forceful intercourse without the consent of the victim is termed as rape. Penetration of the penis into any orifice of the body is termed as rape. Rape is put in the category of sex crimes. And the motivation for rape comes due to lust. Rape is totally a force or coercion by one person on the other. It is never a consensual. And consensual sex is never reported as rape.