Child abuse has lifelong effects. Society takes the side of the adult and blames the child for what has been done to him or her. The victimization of the child has historically been denied and is still being widely denied, even today. This denial has made it possible for society to ignore the devastating effects of the victimization of the child for such a long time. The child, when betrayed by society, has no choice but to repress the trauma and to idealize the abuser.
Repression leads to neuroses, psychoses, psychosomatic disorders, and delinquency.
In psychosomatic disorders, the pain of mistreatment is felt, but the actual origins are concealed. In delinquency, the confusion, seduction, and mistreatment of childhood are acted out again and again. The therapeutic process can be successful if it is based on uncovering the truth about the patient's childhood instead of denying that reality. The fantasies expressed in literature, art, fairy tales, and dreams often unconsciously convey early childhood experiences in a symbolic way. A past crime cannot be undone by our understanding of the perpetrator's blindness and unfulfilled needs.