Child Abuse Lawyer in Philadelphia Ensuring Your Rights are Protected at All Times

Child abuse is much more common than one might think. A report of child abuse is made every 10 seconds. Much more goes unreported. 1 in 3 girls and 1 in 7 boys will be sexually assaulted by the time they reach 18. More than 4 children die each day because of child abuse. More than 90 percent of child sexual abuse victims know their attacker.

The effects of childhood sexual abuse have been well-documented. Aside from the physical harm – there is much evidence that the psychological and emotional trauma can last for years, and potentially a lifetime.

Effects of Sexual Abuse

The impact of sexual abuse is never the same for each survivor. Victims of sexual assault often develop negative emotions, have impaired interpersonal relationships, and struggle with mental and psychological disorders through adulthood. Sexual abuse may breed feelings of shame, terror, guilt, and pain that can last for years or even decades after the abuse has ended.

Survivors may suffer from mental health issues such as depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. These conditions make it challenging for survivors to resume normal life activities. Some survivors experience personality disruptions like dissociation, which is marked by detachment from reality as a coping mechanism. Addiction, self-mutilation, and attempted suicide may also present in victims of abuse.

Survivors are at an increased risk of harmful physiological conditions, such as high blood pressure, persistent pain, and chronic sleep disorders.

There is a great financial burden that comes with sexual violence. The estimated lifetime cost of rape is $122,461 per victim, or a population economic burden of nearly $3.1 trillion over victims’ lifetimes.

Child abuse has a large cost to the nation and to the individual. The estimated annual cost of child abuse and neglect in the United States for 2008 is $124 billion.