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Coalition for Children

 

Who Are Abusers?

Abusers are family, friends and neighbors. As described by the National Committee for the Prevention of Child Abuse:

"It is a sad irony that many abusers genuinely love their children, but they find themselves caught in life situations beyond their control and they do not know how to cope. They are often isolated from friends and family and may have no one to give them emotional support. They may not like themselves and may not know how to get their emotional needs met" (National Committee for the Prevention of Child Abuse).

Child abuse happens in all socio-economic, racial, ethnic and religious groups although it is now known that it does not occur equally over all groups (Fryer, 1990).

   What Abuse Does To Children

Children who have been physically, sexually and/or emotionally abused not only suffer a wide range of effects from their victimization, but are at greater risk to be abused again.

Abuse commonly produces feelings of:

• guilt
• violation
• loss of control
• lowered self-esteem.

Even those who seem to be handling their abuse are concerned that:

• it might happen again
• they did something wrong
• future relationships might be abusive

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Copyright © 1996 -2010 Coalition for Children, Inc. a not-for-profit (501c3) organization and Sherryll Kraizer, PhD