The sexually abused child: social, medical and legal scale of the problem

Abstract

The subject of pedophilia should not be left unsaid or marginalized because the scale of the problem has a tendency to increase. The family situation of a minor child, family dysfunctionality, poverty, lack of emotional support, each may constitute a reason. Many a time, sexual abuse victims reveal psychopathological symptoms as a result of this act. 
There is no method to defi ne a typical characterological picture of a pedophile because it may concern both a male or a female and this kind of paraphilia may be permanent or transient; it is encountered on each continent, the world over and in almost every larger social cluster. 
Sexual victimization of minors by adults in orphanages and educational facilities is becoming a problem. It reveals the “double bottom” of the crime in the social, medical and legal approach as well as the dramatic nature of educational disaster and the imperfection of the educational system. Mass media, and the Internet and TV above all, pose a threat of sexual abuse of the minors in the customary context and under laws in effect. 
A sexually abused child is not indifferent toward molestation. During the first two years following the fi rst act of sexual abuse of a minor, as array of disorders may appear in the emotional and self-perception spheres, disorders affecting sleep, eating patterns, the performance of social functions, the social and sexual functioning as well as the occurrence of pregnancy. Whereas after said two years from the act, depression and tendency for self-mutilation may be added to the aforementioned disorders. Cases of traumatic sexualization and/or the sense of betrayal and/or the feeling of helplessness and/or stigmatization are not isolated. 
Sexological examinations of underage victims of sexual abuse are difficult and non-specific. While in fifty to seventy five percent of the cases, a gynecological or general medical examination does not confirm any symptoms indicating sexual victimization of a child. Despite the existing legal regulations concerning the problem of sexual abuse of the minors, the legislation and its enforcement in this area do not produce desirable results which are far from perfect.