Sexual Abuse at Community Facilities
Community facilities are excellent places to get involved with others in your local area. They are also great places to learn something new, enjoy outings, work out, create art, work on a project, and more. Unfortunately, one problem with these types of facilities is that they sometimes put people at risk for the bad and dangerous behavior of others — including sexual assault. Studies show that up to 40 percent of females and 16.5 percent of males will experience some form of sexual assault when they are adolescents or children. Community facilities are locations where many of these assaults occur.
Why Assault Occurs at Community Facilities
Sexual assaults occur at community facilities often because there are a number of children or adolescents there, and not always enough adults to properly watch them all the time. That means an adult with bad intentions may have the opportunity to be alone with a child. Older children can also assault younger children when adults are not present or when those same adults are distracted. Additionally, rape and other types of sexual assault can happen to elderly or disabled people at nursing facilities and other community facilities, such as a senior center or an adult day-care setting, due to poor monitoring.
Children, the Disabled, and the Elderly Are Particularly at Risk
While anyone can be assaulted and seek out the help of a Sacramento sexual abuse attorney, most people who are assaulted in a sexual manner are children, disabled, or elderly. Nearly 20 percent of female rape victims every year are more than 60 years of age, and over 70 percent of those victims were assaulted in their nursing home. Additionally, children abusing other children at day-care and related facilities is becoming more common. Disabled people are also at risk, as they may not be able to defend themselves or clearly explain to others what has happened to them.
Can This Abuse Be Prevented?
Preventing this abuse is very important, but it is also very difficult to do. There are often not enough people to monitor children, the elderly, or disabled people on a 24/7 basis when these individuals are in day-care or full-time care facilities. Because of this, some abuse gets ignored or overlooked or is simply not seen in order to do anything about it. Once it has occurred, the sexually abused person and their family are left trying to pick up the pieces of a damaged life and shattered emotions. While it is not possible to prevent all sexual abuse, there are ways to reduce the chances of it happening to you or a loved one.
Understanding the facility that a person is in, who operates it, and whether all the workers there have had background checks can be important. There are also other visitors or residents to the facility to be aware of, as well. By choosing higher-quality facilities, preferably with security cameras, the risk of being in a position to be sexually assaulted or abused can be reduced. Unfortunately, there is no way to completely eliminate the potential for sexual abuse from every aspect of life. Having someone to turn to for compensation if abuse has occurred, however, can be a very important step in the healing process.
Watch YouTube Video: NSPCC: Preventing Child Sexual Abuse. This animated video provides simple steps we can take to keep children safe from sexual abuse.
Sacramento Sexual Assault Lawyer
I’m Ed Smith, a Sexual Assault Lawyer in Sacramento. If you or a loved one has experienced sexual assault at a community facility, reach out to me today and let’s talk. Sexual abuse should never have to happen, but sometimes it does. I want to make sure you can receive compensation that is fair and just for any physical as well as emotional and mental injuries an assault may have caused. I can help, and I will be the voice for Sacramento-area sexual assault victims. Call me at (800) 404-5400 or (916) 921-6400 for free, friendly advice.
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