SEXUAL OFFENCES

Investigating the Sexual Offences against Children

Investigating the Sexual Offences against Children

Introduction

Children are believed to be the most innocent and naïve creations of the nature. However, their innocence and naivety often is a critical aspect in making them fall prey of the most reprehensible acts that a devil residing in a human soul can execute. This essay opts to bring acknowledge the underlying connotations associated with the human behaviour pertaining to the child sexual abuse. At first, the essay strives attain basic understanding of child sexual abuse, and then to describe, as though how the endowments rendered by the modern world (internet) have played a pivotal role in enticing the imbedded human lust towards the indefinable sexual gratification. Moreover, the protection that is rendered and ought to be rendered by the society and the law enforcement agencies towards the children. Most importantly, this essay will undertake the endeavour of describing and comparing the Reid model and the PEACE model, and describe the human behaviour regarding child sexual abuse, in that context.

Sexual Abuse

Given the literal connotation attached to the term “sexual abuse”, it eloquently articulates a criminal activity or a dire offense that refers to the compulsion rendered by the offender or the abuser, which would be pivotal in engaging another figure into an undesirable and unwanted sexual activity, either forcefully, or even some kind of threat (Bullens , p. 24 Ekstrand 2002).

Child Sexual Abuse

Bearing in mind the previously mentioned comprehension of the term sexual abuse, child sexual abuse can be assimilated as the act of conducting an offensive sexual activity with a child, by forcing him/her into an unwanted and undesirable act that is neither understood by him/her, nor can it be fought by the child, given the lack of physical strength and power (Howitt , pp.469).

Kinds of sexual abuses against children Interestingly, the sexual offense against the children can be executed in numerous forms, besides the most conventional form of the sexual abuse. Other forms include the continuous inquiring regarding the indulgence of the child in a sexual act, irrespective if the result; the exposure of the personal body parts to the child, or even seeing his/her; showing him/her pornographic content, or forcing the child to be in one of those videos; offensive touches on the body parts of the child; the insertion of sexual objects in to the body of the child; and even the human trade (Lowenstein 2011 pp. 292-298).



Vulnerable Victims and Witnesses

For a naïve mind, it can easily be comprehended the prime vulnerable victims of the child sexual abuse are the children, ranging from infants till the age where they can be termed as adults. It will not be abstruse for a cognitive mind to understand that in most instances, the children who fall victim of this sexual abuse are the witnesses themselves. Therefore, the most pivotal question subsequently rises, which pertains to the protection and validity of the witnesses that will be rendered by either those children, or other associated witnesses ...