Why do people sexually abuse children?
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Understanding why people abuse can help us work out the best ways to protect children. Dr Elly Hanson, clinical psychologist and advisor to CEOP, outlines some of the factors involved.
Understanding why people abuse is important because it can, in some cases, help us prevent them from carrying out the abuse and helps us to work out the best ways to protect children.
A range of factors
When someone decides to sexually abuse a child, a range of factors are likely to play a part.
Desires
Sexual enjoyment can be a motive for abusing a child but it is not the only one and there are usually also other motives at play.
Other motives people might have to abuse a child include wanting to:
- control someone and feel powerful,
- manage or act out difficult emotions,
- gain status in the eyes of others,
- hurt someone for pleasure,
- feel close to someone.
Most child abusers are not only sexually interested in children. Children are often targeted for sexual abuse simply because they are usually more ...
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