Information for Parents & Carers

     

Child sexual assault is any sexual behaviour imposed on a young person or child by an adult or older child.  The sexual assault can involve a broad range of sexual acts including exhibitionism, fondling genitals, masturbation, oral sex, or vaginal/anal penetration by finger/penis or any other object.

Sexual abuse of children is often perpetrated by people who have built a trusting relationship with a child and the child´s family.  For example - parents, step parents, uncles, grandparents, siblings, friends of the family and other members of the community.

Sexual Offenders use a number of tactics to establish a trusting relationship.  Children are coerced and may be treated as ‘special´ using gifts and trickery to manipulate and silence the child into keeping the sexual assault a secret.  The child is also conditioned through the use of threats, blackmail, bribes and punishment not to tell anyone, particularly their parents/carers.

It is important that the total responsibility for the sexual assault of children stays with the offender.  It is not the fault of the non-offending parent/carer that the sexual assault happened, or that they were not aware of it.  Nothing a child ever does make them responsible for the sexual assault they experience.  Offenders often to ensure parents are unsuspecting, often working hard to build trusting relationships with the parents.

Any child can be sexually assaulted and any parent can have that abuse hidden from them if an offender is determined to commit such a crime.  Secrecy surrounding child sexual abuse is the predominant way sexual offenders continue to abuse.