Page 8 | ABUSE Magazine
By Connie Ripplinger, Director of Pregnancy Help Center, Rice Lake, WI
Sexual
“Abuse Are You Safe?
abusemagazine.org
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When dating, age can make a difference
for risks of sexual abuse. Teens who are
sexually active at a young age are often
victims of involuntary sex.
In the state of Wisconsin, cases of
sexual abuse are rising. The Wisconsin
Office of Justice Assistance reported
that in 2010, the number of sexual
assaults rose by 5 percent from the
previous year. The majority of the
victims were under 20 years old, and
2/3 of those victims were under age
15. It was also reported that 90% of
the sexual assaults were committed
by someone the victim knew.
When dating, age can make a difference for risks of sexual abuse. Teens
who are sexually active at a young
age are often victims of involuntary
sex. Advocate for Youth reported that
“about 74 percent of women who
had sexual intercourse before age 14
and 60 percent of those who had sex
before age 15 report having had sex
involuntarily at some point in their
lives.”
Many young people are abused by
their intimate partners. The National
Clearinghouse on Families and Youth
gave the following facts about youth
intimate partner abuse:
• A teen who feels out of control is at
risk of being abusive.
• Teens lack relationship experience,
so they might not know a healthy relationship is not controlling, abusive,
or violent.
• Teens often consider jealousy and
possessiveness as signs of love and
are not prepared for the escalation of
these traits.
•Abuse is not just physical; it is any
behavior that makes someone uncomfortable, awkward, or frightened.
• Teens often have higher standards
for their friends than their intimate
partners.
One way to keep safe from sexual
abuse is to avoid “friends” with corisk behaviors like drugs, alcohol, or
violence. Teen drinking increases the
risk of sexual assault.
You should be aware of the following
Wisconsin laws:
• Wisconsin law defines second degree sexual assault as sexual contact
or sexual intercourse with a person
known to be intoxicated.
• An intoxicated person cannot be a
consenting person.
•Individuals must be at least 18 years
old to legally consent to any kind of
sex.
• Statutory rape is defined as sexual
contact with anyone under age 16.
• Oral sex can also be charged as statutory rape.
Sexual abuse is a serious matter that
has long term effects. One of the long
term effects can be a sexually transmitted disease. One in four sexually
active teens has an STD. Another long
term effect can be damage to your
emotions. Dr. Joe McLlhaney warns
that “unhealthy sexual behavior
molds the brain and creates neuro-induced emotional problems that could
affect relationships long term more
than STD’s or pregnancy.
There are some things you can do to
lessen the chances of yourself being
the victim of sexual abuse. First off
choose your friends wisely, look for
friends who want to succeed in school.
Watch how your friends treat others,
is it with respect and kindness? Do
your friends respect authority?