How do fear, denial, and inexperience cause sexual abuse?

For most people, sexual abuse is a difficult topic to talk about or even think about. For a person who has been sexually abused, or who believes sexual abuse is happening within their own family or community, it is sometimes too scary to think about the disruption that would occur if sexual abuse were confronted.

Many times, a person is afraid of the reaction that others might have to any discussion of sexual abuse. Sometimes, a person might be afraid of being rejected or judged about the need to talk about sexual abuse. Or, a person may realize that confronting situations in which sexual abuse might occur would cause inconvenience or discomfort.

Sometimes, then, it just feels easier to put off having a conversation about sexual abuse. Or, a person may actively choose to ignore the issue so that the fear, discomfort, and disruption can be avoided.

Many times, people just don't know the facts. They don't realize how often sexual abuse occurs. They don't realize that it happens in all types of neighborhoods and communities. They don't realize that the most frequent perpetrator is someone the child knows and trusts.

In these cases, the person just simply doesn't know what responsible adults need to do to keep children safe from sexual abuse.

Regardless of whether the reason is fear, denial, inconvenience, or inexperience, when adults do not address the issue of sexual abuse head-on, children are at risk of being sexually offended.