Introduction
The phenomenon of abuse towards children has been a significant topic of research for numerous scholars throughout the world. Such manifestations as sexual and emotional violence cause various negative ramifications for the victims, originating with physical and psychological suffering. Although several theoretical and legal resolutions were suggested to battle these problems, instances of child abuse at home remain exceptionally frequent in the current age. This paper focuses on the issues of sexual and emotional aggression towards children in their homes, discussing relevant concepts, recent abuse statistics, pertinent theories, and trends.
Sexual abuse toward children at home
Sexual violence towards minors is an essential problem, which often produces gruesome consequences. Commonly referred to as sexually abusive behavior, these activities are defined through the lens of human behavioral patterns. This type of aggression occurs when a child is forced to enter a nonconsensual sexual act or is a witness of explicitly sexual behavior. Current statistics show that 1 in 5 girls and 1 in 20 boys experienced sexual aggression at home, with 88% of children compelled to engage in unwanted sexual contact by male adults (National Center for Victims of Crime, n.d.). Several theories have addressed the onset and development of sexually abusive behavior towards minors. A permanent approach is a biological theory, which argues that sexual violence stems from brain deficiency and hormone imbalance (Faupel & Przybylski, 2019). Another area of research includes a range of personality theories, such as Freudian, attachment, and intimacy theories, which focus on the personality types to explain the underlying reasons for sexual aggression. After that, the social learning theory suggests that sexual offending is the result of learned behavior adopted from other abusive adults or explicit materials (Faupel & Przybylski, 2019). Nevertheless, the modern trends state that instances of sexual abuse at home have increased in the recent decade, elevating the numbers of victims.
Child emotional violence at home
Emotional violence is another type of aggression commonly characterized by the infliction of negative mental feelings onto an underage individual. Emotional distress is frequently used to manipulate children, and can be expressed in verbal intimidation, bullying, and shaming (Zavala & Guadalupe-Diaz, 2018). Although the reported statistics are slightly lower in comparison with sexual abuse, the overall prevalence of emotional aggression toward children is 36% globally (World Health Organization, n.d.). A leading approach to understanding emotional offending is the learning theory, which suggests that individuals learn such behavior patterns from other members of society or available information resources (Zavala & Guadalupe-Diaz, 2018). Another field of research focuses on the dependence theory, an explanation that argues that an unequal distribution of power, physical or mental, might prompt manifestations of emotional violence. Finally, the attachment theory also addresses this issue, proposing that insecure childhood attachment might result in a deficiency in self-regulation, prompting the onset of emotionally abusive behaviors. Unfortunately, the trends of emotional aggression have increased steadily over the last decade, with numerous children experiencing emotional distress at home, mostly from acquaintances and close relatives.
Conclusion
To conclude, the phenomena of sexual and emotional abuse towards children were discussed in detail in this paper, examining the problems and suggesting theoretical explanations regarding the onset of violent behaviors. Although various approaches discuss the causes of aggressive behavioral patterns and suggest potential resolutions, contemporary statistics show that the prevalence of these types of abuse remains significantly high. Additional studies and research are required to establish permanent methods of reducing the manifestations of sexual and emotional aggression towards minors.
References
Faupel, S., & Przybylski, R. (2019). Chapter 2: Etiology of adult sexual offending. Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking. Web.
Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network. (n.d.) Children and teens: Statistics. Web.
World Health Organization. (n.d.). Lifetime prevalence of child emotional abuse (%). Web.
Zavala, E., & Guadalupe-Diaz, X. (2018). Assessing emotional abuse victimization and perpetration: A multi-theoretical examination. Deviant Behavior, 39(11), 1515–1532. Web.