Adults in Recovery and Informed Against Sexual Exploitation

What is Child Sexual Abuse?

Any form of sexual activity with a child *(under 17) by an adult or by another older child, which the child is developmentally unprepared and cannot give informed consent.

A child can never provide genuine consent to engage in sexual activity with anyone. Children are not physically, emotionally, or mentally developed to comprehend the consequences associated with sexual activity. Adults are 100% responsible for their behavior when a child is in their presence.

Many believe in order for sexual abuse to have occurred penetration must happen. However, this is a myth. Sexual abuse can be classified into three categories.

Types of Abuse

Visual

exposing a child to pornography
exposing of genitals
lustful peering looks at a child
force, manipulation or coercion of a child to observe sexual acts of another

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Verbal

graphic sexual descriptions of a sexual nature about a child’s developing body
calling a child by a derogatory name (i.e., slut, whore, bitch, etc)
exposing a child to sexual jokes, teasing or graphic sexual descriptions
communicating in a sexual manner over the phone or Internet

Physical

touching a child’s genitals or having them to touch the genitals of another
sexual intercourse (penetration of vagina with penis or other objects)
kissing a child in a sexual nature (i.e., french kissing)
performing oral sex on a child or forcing a child to perform oral sex on another
forcing a child to engage in group sex or sex rings with adults or other children

All forms of sexual abuse is damaging and impacts every area of life:

physically, emotionally, psychologically, and spiritually.

NOTE: When sexual abuse occurs in childhood, the negative effects will not just go away or stop when the abuse does. The effects will flow over into adulthood, and if not dealt with appropriately the destructive and negative patterns will continue in the life of the survivor.

*In Texas, the legal age to consent to sexual activity.