Who abuses kids?
Most adults care about kids and never sexually abuse them. But some people have serious problems and think it is okay to be sexual with a child. Sometimes a sexual abuser is a stranger, but usually a sexual abuser would be someone you know. It might be your parent, or step-parent, or a teacher, or a neighbor, or a minister or a friend of your parents. It might be someone in your family, or someone that you like a lot. Why would someone do this? Someone who sexually abuses a child has a problem, and needs help. People can do bad things–even nice people. It is sometimes hard to believe that someone we love or who is nice to us can sexually abuse us. Is it my fault if this happens to me? Never. Some kids blame themselves, but they shouldn’t. Adults sometimes use tricks like telling you that you are bad and that this is why this happened. Also, the attention can sometimes seem nice. Maybe this person gives you really good gifts or money when he or she wants to touch you. Maybe this person
