[NSFW} Does being exposed to sexual conduct as a child spill over into adult life?

Why would you say“sexed up” instead of abused, assaulted or raped? It serves no purpose to minimize such brutal and devastating attacks. Not only are they physically abusive, but they are often accompanied by mind games and psychological torture.
Those demons show their ugly heads all the time, and often when you least expect them.

Many women who were sexually abused as children tend to sexualize most or all relationships as adults. Other women tend to close off their sexuality entirely. Many men who were sexually abused by adult males tend to become homophobic as adults. So you can readily see that the experience is very traumatizing.and has impacts far into adulthood.

Being “exposed to sexual conduct” is walking in on someone having sex. It is much different from sexual abuse. Sexual abuse will and does carry over into adulthood, depending on the age of the child, the type of abuse, the repetition of the abuse, the relationship to the abuser, and the trauma of the abuse.

Because of this, it is very difficult to generalize about the response or recovery of the victim.

What I was focused on was the phrase, “introduced to sexual activity.” Perhaps I misinterpreted what the OP meant?

Short answer… yes it does. How badly, to what effect, and how long (if ever) until the person forgives the person that did it depends on the people involved and the exact circumstances surrounding it.

Of course it does. How and to what extent will depend on the individual circumstances.

It doesn’t matter the age, either. It all can be devastating.

The taking of innocence and the traumatic nature of sex to a child make the event or events very central to who the child is, especially sexually.

It can and does have a huge impact (both seen and unseen) on the child’s adult life and on sexual and relationship interactions.

@zenvelo Being “exposed to sexual conduct” is walking in on someone having sex. In this case exposure encompasses involvement the same as a soldier mad to go out and fight will be exposed to danger and violence.

@CaptainHarley I tried to straddle a happy medium and say “sexed up” but it was seen as too volatile so that and other passages that would have made it more clear of the direction had to be debilitated as to not piss off those who could not handle the question. Of, course that makes @Judi appears not to make any sense sorry, but involve is the focus.

It’s all fucking bad no matter the age. And as others have stated it bleeds into every facet of your life when you least expect it. Compartmentalizing it is a coping strategy that is maladaptive though effective in the short term. You have to deal at some point.

If you are introduced to sex in an abusive fashion where the power is completely held by the abuser then it is really hard to learn just what a healthy sexual relationship is. Not impossible though with a lot of help both professionally and personally.

@Hypocrisy_Central ; So are you talking about an “Oops! Sorry mom and dad, I’ll knock next time” type of exposure? Showing kids pornography? Actual sexual contact? Sorry, I really am not sure what you’re asking then. Sexual contact and exposing kids to pronography IS abuse. If you mean kids who see mom and dad cuddling and kissing on the couch, or other simple public displays of affection, the answer would be quite different.

@Judi Like you are a 13yr old boy and your 21yr old female cousin imposes herself on you or tricks you into having sex, or you are an 8yr old girl who finds herself playing a ”secret” game of doctor with her late 20s uncle. Exposure to porn might be part of the ruse but I could not verify that. Sometimes the child don’t really know what is going on or confused because the person tricking them out of their underwear is a beloved family member.

@Hypocrisy_Central What you describe above is sexual abuse, it is not being exposed to sexual conduct. That is the problem I have with your question, and that semantic difference is part of what discounts the seriousness of child sexual abuse.

@Hypocrisy_Central I agree with @zenvelo. What you describe is sexual abuse. Period. Calling it anything else minimizes the gravity of the acts you describe.

@zenvelo @tranquilsea I tried to convey it like it was but I was not allowed for fear it would piss some people off so I have to eviserate it to make it most everyone palatable.

It seems like your choice of words was more offensive than just calling a duck a duck.

@Hypocrisy_Central I have never seen anyone censored here for calling sexual abuse “sexual abuse.” As it stands now, your question is very unclear. There is a big difference between a child inadvertently walking in on parents making love, sex play between two pre-schoolers and the abuse of a child by an adult or older sibling. Your explanation of why you changed the wording doesn’t make a lot of sense and I would like to see this question clarified.

Are you saying the question was moderated, or did you moderate yourself?

@wundayatta I changed the question only after I was made an offer I couldn’t refuse, that is, if I wanted the question to ever see the light of day

@janbb The question in a nutshell poses a few things being:
• If you were made to be a participant in sexual activity with an adult family member whether you were tricked into it slowly or just out right bum rushed when you try to form a relationship of your own would getting intimate with your mate trigger memories from when you were a child?
• If your memories get triggered would that kill off the desire for sex with your mate?
• Is it easier for kids who were younger (and maybe have memories that cloud the acts more because of the time gap) or older to better manage those emotions, feeling, and fears?
• Forgiveness is possible but how likely?
• Are there certain parts of sex but not the sex itself that would case a person to fall out of the frisky mood because said act was something done to them by the adult?
• Lastly (for now) if it was a person the child knew but not family or a complete stranger dose that change how they viewed what happened or that makes it easier to bury in the past?

That’s clearer. I think it is different for different people, for sure, but that most people in any of those scenarios would bring some issues to their adult sexual relationships. It is possible to have satisfying adult relationships but depending on the relationship, flashbacks or issues of shame might cloud it. I don’t think forgiveness is necessary; understanding one’s own innocence is. I’m not sure to what extent age is a factor; if the abuser is a family member it can cause more shame and confusion and be harder to sort out. The repercussions stay with you. Therapy helps. Hope this makes sense.