Why victims become perpetrators

They inflict pain and suffering on others because they have failed to take responsibility that pain and suffering were inflicted on them. But either way, they fail to walk the road they need to walk so that their past experience continues to have a controlling presence in their lives.

I assure you, pain that is not processed will control you. It will attack your identity, create insecurity, birth bad habits, tempt you toward unhealthy patterns of coping, cause you to enmesh yourselves with others, disturb your parenting, thwart intimacy in marriage, stifle friendships, etc. As your pain controls you, it will have a negative impact on others.

Unprocessed trauma will traumatize others. Thankfully, I often witness another way. I see people who have suffered tremendous injustice. Yet they accept their responsibility. They go to counseling read books, attend a support group, are honest with themselves and others all in a lengthy process to walk the road of recovery. But victims can move forward toward the healthiest version of who they can be. And oftentimes something amazing happens.

Rather than their victimization causing pain in others, their experience brings healing to others. Because they walk the road of recovery, they can assist others to do the same. Their journey of healing assists us in our process of healing. Scientists hailed the discovery of these and other key risk factors as "a significant step" in treating and preventing child sex abuse.

Researchers said that could be because the study focused on men who had been convicted of criminal offences. If the boy had been abused by a woman, suffered material neglect or lack or supervision while a child, the risk of him becoming an abuser rose three-fold, the study found. An atmosphere of violence in the home - even if the boy was not the direct victim - also increased the risk.

The reason why we focus on risk factors is so that we can increase protective factors for example, regular mammograms for early detection. For children who have been abused, being believed and supported by significant people in their lives is one of the most important factors that contribute to their healthy and safe sexual behaviors as they grown into adulthood.

It is never too late for you or someone you know to get help for dealing with the impact of sexual abuse. It is never too late to offer support to someone who experienced sexual abuse as a child.

Other factors can increase the risk that someone will sexually abuse children.