Throughout the history of mankind there have been extreme amounts of sexual abuse directed at children. This is a sad and unfortunate realization. Statistically speaking girls are twice as likely to be sexually abused versus a boy. Though that is not to say that sexual abuse of boys is not important or less so, the point of this article is to open the eyes of the world as to the long term effects sexual abuse has on girls physically.
Many times I have found myself in conversations associated with sexual abuse of a minor girl and how it has affected her physically and mentally. Through years of conversations and recent research I have found that the mental damage associated with sexual abuse has been studied inside and out. The physical damage associated with sexual abuse however has only been dappled into. There are no specific means to determine how bad a child has been physically damaged except for in visual confirmations such as tearing, bleeding, and bruises.
Surprisingly there are little scientific findings as to whether or not a girl will develop faster physically (i.e. puberty) due to sexual abuse. Many people I have talked to about this theory have stated that they believe that a girl who is sexually abused whether rape or molestation will develop and mature physically faster then her counterpart who has not been violated. There are a lot of variables in accordance with puberty and sex/intercourse. There are so many hormones and effects that scientists are still studying them and trying to get an inkling into their workings.
At present time it is believed the most important and prevalent hormone that effects the growth of a young girl who has been sexually abused is Estrogen. Estrogen is the hormone that is prevalent and necessary for puberty, where the body grows and changes into its adult form. Estrogen and puberty play an extremely important role for girls. One of the most important roles Estrogen plays is in helping to develop the brain.
If the balance of Estrogen in a girl is too high she can have extreme physical problems in adulthood such as bone loss, infertility, and abnormal menstruations. If the balance of Estrogen is too low it can also detrimentally effect a young girl. Low amounts of Estrogen can be closely related to menopause. Menopause causes an adult woman to produce less and less Estrogen. During menopause for example there are fewer fluids in the vagina so it does not lubricate appropriately during intercourse making it painful, which is part of the reason most women now a days take Estrogen supplements during menopause. Now if you think about it a young girl prior to puberty would likely have considerately close Estrogen levels to a menopausal woman. If a menopausal woman cannot stand sexual intercourse due to the lack of lubricating Estrogen fluids she takes an Estrogen supplement, then how do you think a prepubescent girl feels as she is getting raped?
Once a prepubescent girl has intercourse her body starts to think that it’s time to mature. Her body doesn’t understand that she it to young, all it understands is that there are hormones being exchanged and expressed in their body and they can’t stop it. It is in the body’s nature to develop and change throughout a lifetime. For example when a woman has a child her vagina will swell for weeks to months. This swelling is due to an increase of Estrogen which will slowly deplete as her body regains its chemical balance and heals. This symptom also occurs when a girls is raped. This is not however uncommon in fact it happens to every woman when she has intercourse. Estrogen is the most prevalent chemical associated with a woman’s vagina. Intercourse causes the estrogen to come out. Once intercourse has happened a woman’s vagina will swell slightly becoming red, irritated, and sensitive.
Though Estrogen levels are significant in any female it is still very likely that sexual abuse to a minor prepubescent girl will accelerate her hormone changes ultimately causing the onset of puberty.
Sources: Personal Opinion/Survey/Interviews
www.child-abuse-effects.com/female-victims-of-sexual-abuse.html
www.aaets.org/article120.htm
www.ohiocando4kids.org/Sexual_Abuse_Longitudinal_Study
emedicine.medscape.com/article/915841-clinical#a0217
www.leadershipcouncil.org/1/res/brain.html
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Precocious_puberty
kerryg.hubpages.com/hub/Early-Puberty-in-Girls