The reason why sexual abuse among adolescents is such an important topic of discussion is because of how inherently disturbing the act is and also how prevalent it is among all ethnic groups. Of course, these two aspects of it are just a superficial view of the awful occurrence as a whole; there are several other reasons why sexual abuse among adolescents needs to be talked about such as its short and long term effects and the lack of preventive action that people are currently taking. What is even scarier is that sexual abuse data among these youth can be extremely skewed because of how many individuals fear speaking up or seeking help in order to raise awareness to his or her own situation or the situation of others, such as friends or family …show more content…
As previously mentioned, sexual abuse is not just limited to one ethnic group, but rather spreads amongst all ethnic groups as well as people of different economic and social standards. For example, nearly 2 million adolescents have been victims of sexual abuse and African American children are twice as likely to be susceptible to the abuse when compared to white American children. In the end, the most definite figures have been one in every ten male children have been affected and one in every six women have been affected. The main reason I feel as though this paper needs to be written is to address the issue of sexual abuse among adolescents in order to highlight why it needs to be discussed and possible preventive actions that we as a society can take in order for the problem to slowly become less severe in the future. Everybody wants his or her child to be brought up in a safe environment and whether or not someone’s child is in their adolescent period of life or not, awareness needs to …show more content…
Giving the benefit of the doubt still yields about 4% to 10% of adolescents admitting to having been subjected to forced sex, rape, or uncomfortable physical situations. This clearly emphasizes the “who” in terms of the people that are being subjugated to such heinous crimes. Nearly 8% of high school students have admitted in surveys to having been subjected to physically forced intercourse. 10% of teenage female girls in Massachusetts have experienced some form of sexual assault, and females in general have reporter higher rates of sexual abuse when compared to men. Clearly, the “who” is can be seen as a very broad term when considering sexual abuse, which is honestly a very scary thought because it cannot be pinpointed to one specific group; since it is several different types of people, it will make the act more difficult to stop. For example, if sexual abuse is so prevalent among men and women, and then even deeper, amongst all different ethnicities and ages within one’s adolescence, then the “who” clearly means “everyone who is an adolescent.” As for who is the perpetrator, the same definition of who can also apply as everyone, because it can be family members, neighbors, teachers, bosses, and strangers. As for “where” it occurs, again the answer is unfortunately not entirely specific, for it happens nearly everywhere. Sexual abuse can occur