被禁止的性行為與性暴力

成人與兒童的性接觸: 孌童癖: 有關的心理方面

大多數對兒童的性侵犯是由男人或由兒童所熟悉的男性青少年所為。這些人可能是受害兒童的父親、祖父、叔叔或堂兄，然而更常見的是他們的朋友或諸如鄰居、臨時保姆等家人的熟人。陌生人涉案僅占少部分。女性侵犯者相對罕見。許多罪犯當受害人在兒童期時就對他們實施了性侵犯。在許多案例，這種性接觸並不是一個孤立的事件，而是會持續相當長的時間，因為這名成年人通常會設法建立一種長期的性接觸關係。

就受害兒童方面來說，他們可能對這樣的性接觸反應非常不同，這得依具體的境況而定。多數依據受侵犯時的年齡、被性接觸的類型和與罪犯的關係程度而定。如果罪犯是近親屬或某個受害兒童所信任的其他成人（然而，他卻褻瀆了這種信任。），那麼，受害兒童極可能會遭受到嚴重的心理傷害。例如，他們可能有一系列的行為障礙，或喪失自尊、攻擊焦慮和萎靡不振。一些受害兒童可能需要心理諮詢或心理治療一段時間。另有一些受害兒童似乎未體驗到多久的心理傷害。顯而易見，如果受害兒童沒有受到罪犯的精神傷害，就不應該事後再受到“試圖提供幫助”的其他成人的不適當反應的煩擾。再次強調一下，多數時候依特定的情形不同而定——在性侵犯被發現之前性接觸持續了多久，是否涉及到強制或暴力，事情暴露之後如何處理的，受害者家人原來怎樣提供的幫助？……等等。父母和兄弟姐妹的冷靜反應及其無條件的愛護可以起到極大的積極作用。同樣重要的是，要讓受害兒童認識到這件事情“並不是她/他的錯”。

無論如何，我們應該切記，每一個案例是獨特的，是由所涉及的各種特定因素綜合的結果。所以，也需要來自於願意幫助個別兒童的那些人的特殊的綜合回應。

Prohibited Sexual Behavior and Sexual Violence

Adult Sexual Contact with Children: Pedophilia: Psychological Aspects

Most sexual offenses against children are committed by men or male adolescents whom they know. These may be fathers, grandfathers, uncles or cousins, but more often they are friends or acquaintances of the family, neighbors, or babysitters. Strangers are involved only in a minority of cases. Female offenders are comparatively rare. Many of the offenders had themselves been victims of such offenses when they were children. In many cases, the sexual contact is not an isolated incident, but continues for quite some time as the adult usually tries to establish an ongoing relationship.
As for the children, they may react to the sexual contact very differently, depending on the circumstances. Much depends on their own age at the time of the offense, the type of contact, and on the degree of closeness to the offender. If he is a close relative or some other trusted adult who violated this trust, they are more likely to sustain serious psychological damage. For example, they may develop a variety of behavioral problems, or suffer from a loss of self-esteem, anxiety attacks and depression. Some children may need psychological counseling or therapy for some time. Others do not seem to experience any lasting harm. Obviously, if the child was not traumatized by the offender, it should not be upset after the fact by the inappropriate reactions of other adults who “try to help”. Again, much depends on the specifics of the situation - how long the contact had gone on before it was discovered, whether force or violence had been involved, how the discovery is handled, and how supportive the family proves to be. A calm reaction of parents and siblings and their unconditional love can make an enormous, positive difference. It is also important that the children learn to understand that it was “not their fault”.
At any rate, one should remember that each case is unique in the specific combination of the factors involved. It therefore also requires a specific combination of responses from those who want to help an individual child.