Child sexual abuse professionals know the most common challenges facing survivors of child sexual abuse, such as fear, shame, guilt, depression, trust issues, substance abuse, etc. But there are other, less widely discussed questions that child sexual abuse survivors face. This presentation will focus on a few of these sneaky challenges, including:

• The Hard Conversation: How am I going to tell my spouse, family, and friends about this?
• The Monster Complex: Am I going to be a child molester when I get older?
• The Burden: Did my silence assist my abuser in abusing other victims?
• The Real Me: What are my “true” characteristics and what are traits that evolved from my abuse?
• The Big Guy: Where was God in all of this?
• The Crusader: As a survivor, what responsibility do I have to confront child sexual abuse in my profession?
• The Discount: Compared to others, was my abuse really that big of a deal?

Law enforcement, prosecutors, social workers, victim advocates, child protective service workers, and anyone working with child sexual abuse victims have an opportunity to speak life into these survivors. The goal of this presentation is to provide a better understanding of some of the challenges they face so that professionals can aid victims.

Learning Objectives

1. To better understand the scope of the repercussions of childhood sexual abuse for the individual survivor.
2. Identify less commonly considered challenges facing survivors of childhood sexual abuse.
3. To provide professionals with the ability to aid survivors of childhood sexual abuse in addressing these less commonly considered repercussions of childhood sexual abuse.