Child-on-child sexual abuse
Child-on-child sexual abuse
Child-on-child sexual abuse is differentiated from normative sexual play or anatomical curiosity and exploration (e.g. "playing doctor") because child-on-child sexual abuse is an overt and deliberate action directed at sexual stimulation, including orgasm. When sexual abuse is perpetrated by one sibling upon another, it is known as "inter-sibling abuse". When victims of inter-sibling child-on-child sexual abuse grow up, they often have a distorted recollection of the act, such as thinking it was consensual or that they were the initiator.
Causes
In the case of child-on-child sexual abuse, young children who have not matured sexually are incapable of knowing about specific sex acts without an external source. Consequently, children who initiate or solicit overtly sexual acts with other children either have been sexually victimized beforehand (by an adult or another child) or they have been exposed to sexually explicit material. Research shows that about one-third to one-half of children with problematic sexual behaviors have no history of sexual abuse themselves. In many instances, the perpetrating child has been exposed to pornography or repeatedly witnessed sexual activity of adults at a very young age, and this can also be considered a form of child sexual abuse.
Causes
In many cases, a child or adolescent may have no intent to cause any harm to another child, and they act merely on a passing impulse. However, this act may still result in harm to the other child and is a form of child-on-child sexual abuse. Furthermore, children who had experienced an unwanted sexual approach may not understand that this act was crime against themselves.
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