What are the signs of sexual abuse?
• Fear of certain people or places. • Sleeping problems: nightmares, bedwetting, fear of going to sleep. • Behaviors that are unusual for a child’s age: using older people’s words to describe body parts, simulating sexual acts with dolls or asking other children/siblings to behave sexually. • An older child may suddenly behave like a younger child (e.g., bedwetting, thumb-sucking). Physical Signs • Unexplained bruises, redness, or bleeding of a child’s genitals, anus or mouth. • Pain at the genitals, anus, or mouth. • Genital sores or milky fluids in the genital area.
