The “secret syndrome” and child sexual abuse.

The case of a ten-year-old girl, victim of sexual violence by an uncle, and which
resulted in a pregnancy, brought heated debates and radical positions, impregnated with
moral judgments, values religious, bioethical issues and efforts by health professionals
in an attempt to bring a little bit of rationality to a burning social stage.
The succession of violence suffered by the victim since he was 6 years old seems to have no end with
his / her identity and whereabouts being revealed on social networks, and culminates in demonstrations and accusations of
murder against the abused child at the door of the hospital where he was undergoing the procedure /> legal abortion. In addition to the already repulsive crime of sexual abuse against a child, aggravated by
the re-victimization of a 10-year-old pregnancy, we are dismayed by the visceral reaction of part of society that cruelly criminalizes the victim.
Aware that we have the right to secrecy that was criminally denied to the victim, as well as the
future consequences that will be added to the impacts of violence on his physical and mental health, we have
take something that gives some encouragement in the face of this sad episode: a call!
We are called to face a reality that tears, that hurts, that revolts, that “wraps
stomachs”, but that is there. Not only the reality of the abuse, but the social violence imposed on the victim. We are
called to educate society collectively on the dynamics of sexual abuse, to reflect on the difficulties
children, adolescents and their families face in order to see their rights guaranteed
under Brazilian law. Rape victims have already had their rights to assistance, including legal abortion in cases of pregnancy resulting from rape, recognized by medical and legal entities, in addition to
social and psychological support. We were all, society, educators and health professionals equally
called to our roles as co-responsible for guaranteeing these rights.
We saw astonished comments that accuse the victim of complicity with his aggressor, who question his condition as a victim for passively accepting the violence that stole his childhood and his
innocence at the age of six. Added to this are dogmatic convictions that are poorly supported by distorted religious principles, which inflict more pain and suffering on the victim, as well as total ignorance of the
medical and psychological aspects of a pregnancy at such a young age. < br /> Among all the violence suffered by this child, the vile judgment regarding the silence of the victim of sexual abuse for years does not see what is its main motivator and maintainer: the victim's vulnerability in the face of the aggressor. We know that most cases of abuse occur within the family context, by close people who play the role of caregiver, having a victim with a hierarchical, power and subordination relationship. So that the abused can use his / her role as caregiver and the child's confidence in him / her to initiate abuse in a subtle way.
As the abuse progresses, a series of manipulation strategies are used by the abuser
to keep the cycle of abuse, including the “Secret Syndrome”, which includes the use of threats and bargains by the abuser to ensure that the victim keeps the abuse a secret. Threats
often involve threats of physical aggression or the death of people close to you or the child,
or that, if it is revealed, no one will believe it and will be punished. The abuser can also
blackmail the victim using the ambivalence and affection that the child has for him as an attachment figure,
stating that he and other family members can be arrested if they reveal their actions, and the child can be
away from the family. Bargains are also given through gifts and other offers to the victim in return

of your silence. The disclosure of the secret is difficult and suffered, therefore, for fear of reprisal, since the
aggressor threatens the victim, in addition to fear of discredit, family breakdown, etc.

In this way, it must be clear that when we talk about children and adolescents we are talking
about someone who is unable to give consent to something that she does not fully understand and for which
she is not prepared due to their stage of psychosexual development. The right to choose can be suppressed by coercion, parentage, or immaturity. Childhood and adolescence are critical periods of personality formation, of cognitive, emotional and behavioral aspects. It is in the
family context, amid significant figures, that cultural values and basic repertoires for your
interpersonal relationships are lived and learned. The family is the first “school” and must be
committed to the safety and protection of minors. It is important to stress that the child may not be
aware of social limitations on different sexual practices and, therefore, is unable to create their own limits. It is the adult's duty to know and respect these limits, and it is always his / her responsibility
for the actions performed.
It is, therefore, a call to the hard work and continuous effort of all to raise the awareness of the
society, in all media, in all institutions and segments. Perhaps, or rather, for sure
we are talking and observing our children and adolescents a little, as family nuclei,
institutions and justice do not contemplate or guarantee, in fact, protection for them.
In I mourn the immeasurable pain of children and adolescents who are victims of sexual abuse.