A Brief Study on Sexual Abuse on Children and Its Causes and Effects Sexual abuse on children and infants is sadly universal and as old as the human race itself. But it is only in recent years that much more attention has been paid to the pervasive case of sexual abuse among children, most of which occurs within families. Pedophiles usually exhibit easily identifiable signs. The most common signs are: repetitive conversations about sexual activities of children or adolescents and excessive masturbation which includes interrupting normal daily activities to masturbate. The pedophile has a childhood history of sexual abuse and has unresolved sexual issues arising from this history. Hobbies that focus on collecting child pornography and sexual arousal when engaging in this hobby are a sign of a sexual perpetrator. Sexual abusers generally experience a sense of frustration and anger released through child abuse. Pedophiles lack the ability to approach appropriate sexual partners, so they seek out children to find a sexual outlet. As you can see, emotional immaturity is a factor in the pedophilic personality. Social inadequacy runs counter to emotional immaturity. Furthermore, pedophiles enjoy the control and sense of power they have over their victims. They feel like they have no control over their lives and so they take advantage of children in an attempt to gain that sense of power. Statistics on child sexual abuse are highly controversial due to the fact that the reporting and compilation of this information is incomplete and cannot be fully controlled. But from the information that can be gathered it is evident that there is an extreme truth that sexual abuse… halfway through the paper… is a strong indication that environmental factors play an important role. Children raised in an abusive environment, as adults create an abusive situation that their children inherit "environmentally", and the cycle continues endlessly. As is evident, child molestation is a common abuse when it is not necessary. If parents, siblings, teachers, religious leaders, and society as a whole attempted to observe children's physical and behavioral tendencies, abuse could be more easily perceived and thus eradicated. Society should not blame the victim, but should punish the perpetrators and strive to rehabilitate them before allowing them to create an abusive situation again. Child sexual abuse is a growing problem that requires our attention. We must act now before more children are subjected to these unprovoked attacks.