The two topics that I have chosen for Part A are sexual abuse and abortion. I have strong feelings about these two topics because they are important to me.
Sexual abuse is a difficult problem a person may have to face someday. How does a person deal with such a devastating thing? Individuals cope with their problems differently; there is no right or wrong way to deal with such problems.
Abortion is another problem in life that can be tough to face. Not only emotionally, but, also politically. The controversy between pro-choice and pro-life can make it politically difficult decision to make. These two groups may never find common ground and will keep debating until they do.
In Part B, I will cover the topic of abortion, and the two different views; prochoice and pro-life. I consider myself on the pro-choice side of the argument. By the end of reviewing the articles, books, and journals, I will re-evaluate where my position on abortion stands.
Sexual abuse is very common these days. I am interested in this subject because of the seriousness of this problem. I have worked with children for many years and plan on continuing after graduation. By learning to cope with the problem of sexual abuse, it will make me a better person to help those who may need it.
I think of children as little fragile human beings that need protecting. Once their boundary of safety is broken, it could lead to many emotional and psychological problems in the present, future, or even both. Sexual abuse can be harmful to a person's personality.
A few questions I have pondered over are: What happens to a child that has been abused: Are they emotionally able to handle such a situation? What kind of help should they receive? Is it true that a child who has been abused is more likely to commit this same crime when they are older? Are there really any answers to these questions? I suppose there are answers, which I hope to figure out for myself.
What kind of help can a child receive? Possibly, one is counseling, but, what if the child does not respond? The counselor must try to build a strong bond with the child, therefore, creating a safe place in which the child will open up.
I believe a child should understand what happened to them and learn to try and accept it. Then, realize they are the victims, and it's not their fault. They did not ask to be sexually abused. Victims tend to blame themselves which should be taught not to do. These are hard tasks to accomplish, but, I feel they necessary to be able to overcome any emotional or psychological problems that may occur in the present, future, or both.
Another method could be for the individual to have someone to communicate with during the time period after the abuse. Keeping it in can be the cause of many more problems down the road. Life is too short to have such heavy psychological and emotional problems, especially if there is a way to try and avoid it.
I believe a person may think they have dealt with, and overcome their situation of abuse, but, unconsciously, it is still there. The unconscious mind can be the cause of many problems. These can range form participating in the cycle of abuse to experiencing an emotional or psychological break down.
Freud, along with a few other psychologists of his time devised a psychology of the unconsciousness (Hergenhahn, 1992). This psychology is known as Psychoanalysis. Using the theory of free association or any other theory which is associated with the unconsciousness, could be a possible answer which can help adults that were once abused as children, break the cycle of abuse (Hergenhahn, 1992).
Other examples that can be caused by sexual abuse could be multipersonality and hysteria. People showing signs of these problems are probably burying crimes done to them such as abuse deep in the unconscious mind. With help, they can dig into the unconsciousness and figure out what were the cause of the problems they are experiencing. An example could be an individual that sexually abuses children, this person could have been an sexually abused victim.
The unconscious mind holds many secrets of an individual's childhood. This could affect the individual's present life. By learning what these secrets are, the individual may be able to deal with their problems. This explanation deals with an adult that was once sexually abused as a child. What about helping a child during the time right after abuse occurs?
This subject is more personal to me than someday working with sexually abuse children. When I was eleven years old, I was kidnapped and raped. This has been and is still a very traumatic part of my life.
When I look back on this experience, I see it has affected me much more than I am ready to admit. Life seems to move smoothly, but, I wonder if this didn't happen to me, how would my life be like right now. I feel I was young enough for it to really affect the majority of my life.
What I don't understand is, people around me, especially my family, are not willing to talk to me about it. Perhaps they are or I am in some sort of denial. I somstimes wonder if they were more affected by this situation then I was. I still think I have buried it within myself so well that it has affected my life around me without realizing it.
Everyone thought I was so strong, especially at the time; I guess I appeared to be that way so l wouldn't worry everyone around me. Until today, I still think about that day since it goes through my head over and overl I guess I just don't know how to deal with it, and find a way to just get over it. know it wasn't my fault, but, I just can't get it out of my mind. I need overcome this!! How can I become a better person if I can't cope with it?
I guess I decided to open up and write about it to help myself. This could be the first step to get over the unconscious obsession I have with this subjectl The strange thing is, after I decided to open up and write about this, I found out the man who violated me just got out of prison. This has been a tough weekend for me. I think the next step for me will be to seek professional help. I need someone I can trust, and be able to really open up to, and just plain talk to. This will be difficult step in my life, but, I need to try!
Finding out that he was released from prison has really affected me in the worse way. I dreaded this moment for over ten years and it has now happened! I am amazed because it seems as if I am dealing with it much better than I ever expected. In the past I thought about running away, leaving the island, especially since it is such a small island. I just wanted to move away to the mainland. Maybe, by standing up to this situation it might be another step for me to overcome this. I still think if I ran into him at a store or just around town I might freak out and have a nervous or psychological breakdown. Every individual handles things differently. I guess I will have to wait for that day to come. In the meantime, I can build up my psyche and be able to deal with this much better than if it were a surprise.
Abortion is a very powerful and controversial subject. I strongly consider myself on the pro-choice side because I approve of the act of abortion. I feel there is a need to keep abortion safe and legal in the United States of America.
There are many opinions on this subject. You have your extreme pro-lifers, then the ones who are pro-choice with restrictions, and those who believe abortion should remain a legal choice for all women. The question that needs to be asked is if the act of abortion is moral. But, is there anything during this life that is moral. I am almost positive that anything a person does would be considered immoral to another person. This is probably why we all have our own personal views, opinions, and morals.
The act of abortion has been going on for many years, probably as far the dark ages. I theorize if the abortion law is overturned, there will still be some form of abortion in the world.
I believe abortion could be an answer for those who have unfortunate, unwanted pregnancies who need a way out. If it was a mistake then at least there is an answer. I am clearly against using abortion as a birth control. On the other hand, there are many teenagers who have never received a formal education on birth control. They shouldn't be held accountable for their unfortunate predicament of getting pregnant. It should be the parents or school system's responsibility to educate them.
There are many circumstances in life which needs to be faced. No matter what, the woman (female) should have the right to decide what happens to her own body. Pro-choice promotes a choice, not limiting the individual to only one option. They want everyone to be informed and realize there are options. These options may include having the child, giving it up for adoption, or having an abortion. At least the choice would be there for the individual.
To Part B