Child sexual abuse: historical aspects, legal and harm to child development

Abstract

Because it is a violence that plagues several children and adolescents in the world throughout history, child sexual abuse requires close attention, considering that it is a complex phenomenon and, in many cases, difficult to identify, being the abuser usually a trusted person of the family and who is expected to take care of the victim, as biological parents, stepfathers, uncles or close friends, for example. In addition, most cases of sexual abuse occur in the victim’s own home, where little is expected of the child and adolescent to be in a vulnerable situation. Based on the factors described, this research presents the following guide question: what is sexual abuse and what are its impacts on child development? This article aimed to review the historical and legal aspects of sexual abuse, exploring the complexities of its definitions and presenting the possible effects on the victim. For this, a bibliographic review of qualitative, descriptive and exploratory character was made, raising reflections on the theme. It was seen that the child and the adolescent did not always have legal support, having suffered several violence without the due punishment to their aggressors. Over time, laws were being instituted and, in Brazil, the Statute of Children and Adolescents (ECA) had marked a time of determination of rights of childhood and adolescence, establishing protection mechanisms, including against violence such as sexual abuse. Finally, it was considered in this study that there is a lack of information to the population on the subject, which corroborates the reproduction of the aforementioned offense. It was observed that, considering the damage to the biopsychosocial health of the victim and his/her family, studies and prevention projects were made, as well as instituted different forms of reporting this crime. It was concluded that there is a need to prepare strategies to prepare families, professionals and institutions responsible for guaranteeing the rights of children and adolescents so that they can contribute to strengthening the fight against sexual abuse.