Child sexual abuse and symptoms

These are sexual acts with a child, performed by an adult or an older child. Some typical child abuse behaviors include:

• Sexual touching of any part of the body, whether covered with clothing or naked
• Intercourse with penetration, including the mouth
• Encourage a child to engage in sexual activities, including masturbation
• Having sex in front of a child, being aware of his or her presence
• Show pornography to minors or use children to produce this material
• Encourage a minor to prostitute himself

There are some behavioral changes in children that may indicate sexual abuse. Here are a few:

• The girl / boy is particularly afraid of some people or some places
• Unusual responses of the child to the question “have you been touched?”
• Unreasonable fear of a medical examination
• Drawings depicting sexual acts
• Sudden changes in behavior, such as wetting the bed or losing control of the sphincters
• Sudden awareness of the genitals, acts and words of a sexual nature
• Attempts to engage in sexual behavior from other children