Information About Child Sexual Abuse

How to Support Your Child After Sexual Abuse

If your child has experienced sexual abuse, it can be overwhelming to know how to respond. Understanding what your child may be going through—and how to support them—can make a powerful difference in their recovery. The information below offers key facts, practical guidance, and recommended resources to help you navigate this difficult time with compassion, care, and clarity.

Key Facts About Child Sexual Abuse

• Sexual abuse is very common.
• When a child is sexually abused, it’s usually by someone they know and trust.
• It’s very common for the abuser to threaten to harm the child if the child tells about the abuse.
• Children disclose abuse in small pieces. Your child may tell you more details about the abuse over days, weeks and months.
• Children and teenagers who have been abused are more likely to have depression or use drugs and alcohol.
• Getting counseling for yourself and for your child is very important for your child’s health now and in the future.

What to Do If Your Child Discloses Sexual Abuse

• Do not punish them! Your child isn’t at fault.
• Listen to what he or she tells you.
• Let your child tell you; DO NOT repeatedly ask them about the abuse.
• Be supportive but don’t put words in his or her mouth.
• Write down what he or she tells you and tell a Department of Children and Families worker and the police department.
• Reassure your child and thank them for telling you.

Common Reactions Children May Have After Abuse

• Sadness or depression
• Anger
• Anxiety or nervousness
• Difficulty concentrating at school and a drop in grades
• Nightmares
• "Taking back” what he or she said about the abuse so things are "normal" again
• Sexualized behaviors like frequent masturbation, kissing or touching other children, looking at pornography
• Acting "baby-like" with bedwetting, thumb-sucking, talking like baby

Books and Resources for Parents and Caregivers

• We Are Not Alone: A Guidebook for Helping Professionals and Parents Supporting Adolescent Victims Of Sexual Abuse - by Jade Christine Angelica, MD
• Children Changed by Trauma: A Healing Guide - by Debra Whiting Alexander
• When Your Child Has Been Molested: A Parent’s Guide to Healing and Recovery: Putting the Pieces Back Together - by Kathryn Hagans and Joyce Case
• We Are Not Alone: A Teenage Girl’s (Bo’s) Personal Account of Child Sexual Abuse from Disclosure Through Prosecution and Treatment – by Jade Christian Angelica, MD
• A Terrible Thing Happened – by Margaret Holmes