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The impacts of childhood sexual abuse
Content note: This page talks about childhood sexual abuse and its impacts. It is not graphic, but it may be distressing. Please take care of yourself while reading, and step away whenever you need to. The Quick Exit bar at the bottom of this site will close this page at any time.
Childhood sexual abuse can have profound, long-lasting impacts that continue long after the abuse has ended.
For many survivors, the effects are shaped not only by what happened to them, but also by the secrecy, silence, stigma and shame that often surround their experiences. Many survivors grow up believing the abuse was somehow their fault, carrying shame and self-blame that never belonged to them in the first place.
Every survivor’s experience is different. There is no single way trauma affects people, and no single path to healing. If you recognise yourself in some of what follows, please know: these are normal responses and adaptations to what happened to you. Support exists, and you do not have to navigate it alone.
Physical health
The body can store and carry unprocessed trauma even when the abuse is no longer happening.Survivors commonly report chronic health conditions, inflammatory disorders, pain, trouble sleeping, higher rates of substance use and addiction and poorer general health. Some survivors also avoid health checks and appointments as a way of coping with distress about their bodies or about clinical settings, which can compound health risks over time. Trauma-aware healthcare can make a real difference here, which is why the National Centre is working to build the capability of Australia's health workforce, including general practitioners.
Mental health
Survivors are more likely to be diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression, and to have attempted suicide. Many live with complex trauma. The Australian Child Maltreatment Study found that young people aged 16 to 24 who experienced child maltreatment are 5.8 times more likely to have post-traumatic stress disorder and 4.5 times more likely to have attempted suicide in the past year, and that sexual abuse and emotional abuse are the most harmful types of child maltreatment for later mental health.
Relationships and connection
Because childhood sexual abuse often involves betrayal by someone trusted, it can disrupt a person’s ability to form healthy, secure relationships and attachments. Some of the challenges survivors face include: difficulty developing and maintaining intimate relationships and friendships, difficulty trusting people, fear of abandonment or extreme dependency, problems with boundaries, social isolation, and cultural, religious or spiritual disconnection. For many survivors, safe connection is both the hardest thing and the most healing thing.
Sexual development and identity
Child sexual abuse can cause confusion in sexual development, and many survivors describe complicated feelings about their bodies, intimacy and identity. These experiences are common after abuse, and they can improve with safety and the right support.
Education, work and finances
Impacts can flow into practical parts of life: poorer educational engagement and outcomes, difficulty maintaining employment, financial difficulties and poor housing security. Trauma can also drive coping behaviours that create further difficulties. None of this reflects a person's worth or capability. It reflects the weight they have been carrying.
Impacts can come and go
For many survivors, impacts are not constant. They can resurface at different stages of life: when memories return, at milestones like becoming a parent, or when something in the present echoes the past. Some people do not remember the abuse until adulthood. Our founder, Dr Donna Lyon, did not remember her abuse until her mid-20s. However and whenever the impacts show up for you, they are valid, and it is never too late to seek support.
Healing is possible
Experiencing childhood sexual abuse does not mean someone is destined for these outcomes. The research is clear that outcomes depend on many factors, and that safe, stable relationships and access to support play a central role in recovery. The effects of trauma are lifelong, but healing is possible with the right environment and support.
Our research with the University of Melbourne shows participation in the Left Write Hook program is associated with reductions in depression, anxiety, stress and symptoms of complex PTSD, alongside improvements in social, emotional and psychological wellbeing.
Recovery looks different for everyone, but it is possible. Read Recovery pathways for survivors or find support.
Sources: Left Write Hook film site Resources (Impacts of Child Sexual Abuse, summarised from the National Centre and Blue Knot); Australian Child Maltreatment Study findings; National Centre for Action on Child Sexual Abuse (including the role of general practitioners and health services); National Centre evidence to action newsletter (safe and stable caregiving, Salter 2026, MacSween and Petridis 2025, Welsh and McComsey 2026); Left Write Hook research (leftwritehook.org/research).