Child abuse and its lifelong impact on victims: insights from the Guardians of the Children

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month. Kentucky has one of the highest rates of child abuse in the country. It’s a statistic that many advocates want to change.

Guardians of the Children vice president and child liaison Dawn Westphalen said, “We’ve seen kids come in where they were so broke and tears everywhere, you know, and just not doing good at school, hiding in the bathrooms, being, you know, lost.”

Sadly, Westphalen explains, school bullying isn’t uncommon for abuse victims.

She says some children begin to question their own sexualities following their abuse.

Westphalen says others experience anger or depression and in some cases suicidal thoughts.

In many cases, the Guardians of the Children see children grow fearful of adults.

Unfortunately, child abuse often ends up warping victims’ relationships in adulthood.

“They have a hard time as an adult having a relationship because they don’t know who they can and can’t trust because they’ve never trusted anyone,” continued Westphalen.” Or a lot of times they feel like they were sexually abused for a reason. So, they think that they have to do sexual things to get things or to get somebody to care for them.”

If you think a child may be experiencing abuse, you can help by making them feel safe, heard, and reassured that you will take their voice seriously.