_-~>×<^,》Sexual Abuse Awareness

N/A 12/30/20

109

Heyo, hello, and hewo from your neighborhood Panic! Nerd!

TW: TALK AND MENTIONS OF SEXUAL SITUATIONS, ABUSE, TRAUMA, THERAPY, AUTHORITIES. PLEASE READ WITH CUATION.

\Table Of Contents

1. Introduction

2. What Is Sexual Abuse?

3. Signs Of Sexual Abuse

4. What To Do If You're Being Sexually Abused

5. What To Do If Know Someone Who Is Being Sexually Abused

6. How To Deal With The Truama

7. Closing

_-~>×<^,》Sexual Abuse Awareness-Heyo, hello, and hewo from your neighborhood Panic! Nerd!

[CBIU]TW: TALK AND MENTIONS OF SE

◇》Introduction 《◇

Today I'll be bringing awareness to sexual abuse. As a survivor myself this subject is very dear to me. My personal experiences have lead to me being very emotional, reserved, secretive, touch starved, depressed, anxious, and always in a state of fight or flight. My hope with this post is to get someone out of a situation before it gets as bad as mine did.

I identify as genderfluid, but for the reasons of this post I am biologically female; for my age I am more developed than most of my peers, I am tall, and (partially due to these experiences) I have a hard time saying no. Personally I was abused by my uncle. I tell you these details in hopes of making it easier to identify this in yourself or someone you know.

◇》What Is Sexual Abuse《◇

Sexual abuse to unwanted and/or unauthorized sexual actions brought and/or done to a victim by a perpetrator. Often times done in small portions, or in private places; this is different from sexual assault, as the activities in sexual assault are done by someone unknown to them. While sexual abuse is not caused by an uncontrollable sex drive, it is sometimes done as a way for the attacker to have sexual satisfaction, whether this be that they feel neglected or that they view their victim in a sexual way. It is a crime and is mostly to bring humiliation, fear, or harm upon the victim.

More often than not the attacker is a very close friend, co-worker, family member, or caretaker of the victim. This comes for the bond that has been formed between the two or more people. Once the victim trusts and respects the attacker, they are now vulnerable, especially if they are underage.

In some of the worse cases sexual abuse starts from shortly after if not when the child is born, due this being 'normal' for the victim they often don't see the problem. Some attackers will even train their victims to the point of having them on cameras all the time or worse. Personally mine started when I was 3, from then on it took me until I was almost 14 to realize what was happening.

◇》Signs Of Sexual Abuse《◇

There are several different types of sexual abuse and each comes with it's own set of signs. Reported sings include (keep in mind I will use attacker but who that is may not be present in the situation):

◇Generalized fear and/or anxiety with and around the attacker

◇Touch deprivation and/or scared of being touched

◇Fear of the talk or action of sexual activities

◇Constantly trying to cover the body completely (not by teaching or religion)

◇Flinching or fear at movement toward any sexualized area, even from afar

◇Flinching or fear at even remotely sexual actions (kissing, PDA, touches, ect.)

◇Not wanting to be in or disliking social situations (not due to being antisocial or having anxiety)

◇Constantly worried about privacy

◇Most will not state, but feel as they are being watched constantly

◇Almost never or Almost always wanting to leave their house.

◇Being secretive (often caused by being bribed)

◇Constantly saying or feeling they are a s***, w****, ect.

◇In a constant state of fight or flight

◇Having an overly compliant behavior

◇Having more than is expected knowledge of sexual topics

◇Avoidance of changing, removal of outter clothing layers, or bathingsuits when is expected (especially in public)

◇Changes in eating habits

◇Changes in mood, most common is increased aggression

◇Loss of interest in school, activities, friends, ect.

◇Nightmares or fear of being alone at night

◇Weight loss

◇Writing, dreaming, drawing, or playing of sexual or fearful images

◇Talks of having a new older friend (in children and young adults)

◇Self-Harm

◇Inadequate hygiene

◇Drug or Alchohol abuse (while not a drug or alcohol, caffeine addiction is also a sign)

◇Acting or doing activities as though they are younger

◇Stomach aches

◇Constantly wanting attention

◇Rebelious behavior

◇Attempt(s) to run away from home

◇Inappropriate with other children (under the age of about 10)

◇Depression

◇Anxiety

◇Making about or feeling they have no self-worth, self-confidence, and/or self-esteem

◇Acting overly concerned for siblings and/or close friends

◇Suddenly receiving gifts (especially 18+ gifts)

◇Using new or different words to describe 18+ things or actions

◇Scared of things to do with their mouth and/or dentists

◇Sexual signs (bruises, bite marks, ect.)

◇Trouble walking, sitting, ect.

◇》What to do if you are being sexually abused《◇

As a mandatory reporter myself, I must advise you to go through the proper channels and report your situation to the police. If you are unsure you are being sexually abused, I recommend still calling the cops (atleast in the US, as long as you have a reason to be scared in any way authorities will respond to your call); otherwise I recommend speaking to your doctor, most times doctors have experienced themselves or helped other with similar situations and will be able to get you where you need to be. If you are underage you can also speak to Child Protective Services, their worldwide number is 1-800-422-2253, otherwise you can search on the internet and find what the number is for your local S office.

In an emergency situation you can call this hotline and they will get someone from your area who is professionally trained in stopping sexual actions to help you. This service is confidential and will not give any of your information without your permission. The number is (800)656-4673.

As my doctor advised me, stay away from the person and make as much noise as possible when something happens. Similar to when you are being attacked, you can scream "fire" or anything along those lines. Yes it is not a fire, but unfortunately more people are likely to come running or notice your noise if it is something threatening to them and not only you.

◇》What to do if you know someone who is being sexually abused《◇

Again, this is similar to the situation above. Talk to your doctor if you must, they are mandatory reporters and will have to turn this into the police. If you are with this person at the time of abuse you can call the hotline, 911, S, and I would recommend the local hospital if anything serious happens.

I urge you to not push this aside; I understand that sometimes the victim does not want anything done for them and their situation, but it can badly affect their future. Like I mentioned happened to me, I am very reserved, I flinch at pretty much any movement from anyone, I'm always waiting for something to happen, and my parents don't like that I am too knowledgeable in sexual activities. Please, report and help.

◇》How to deal with the trauma《◇

First off after the situation is reported, the victim will be talked to by S, DHS, and/or the ABC House. Most often they will be set up with a therapist, this does not mean mental therapy, often times they use cognitive behavioral therapy, physical therapy, play therapy, and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy for these cases.

◇》Closing《◇

I hope that this helped someone, or atleast encouraged someone to spread awareness. that none of this was your fault, you are not alone, you are beautiful, you will be okay, and I love you.

♡P!N

》no photos are mine, credit to original artists《

#awareness