What Is Sexual Abuse?

Take our Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Test

Find a therapist to heal from sexual abuse

Sexual assault is never the victim's fault.

We begin shaping our children when we hold them as infants and respond to their needs with love and compassion

Primary caregivers teach empathy, boundaries, consequences, and critical thinking by messaging and modeling.

We can't control every influence, which is why parents' influence is so important.

I didn’t just start thinking about how to end sexual violence when I sat down to write this. I’ve been thinking about it for most of my life, certainly since adolescence, when people began confiding in me about the assaults that devastated them. One friend described what happened to them as a slow murder of their soul.

I think about everyone who stayed silent out of shame or fear. I think about those who did speak out and were blamed or not believed by their communities, their families, and their friends, the very people who were supposed to support and advocate for them. Many described this secondary assault as more painful than the first.

So when I read about the alleged gang rape at Cornell, I felt deep sorrow for Jane Doe and shock at the response of the men and women who spoke out against her. We must not forget that sexual assault is never the victim’s fault. Responsibility always belongs to the person who........

© Psychology Today