Sexual Abuse and Repressed Memories Sexual abuse has been particularly common in the American society for many years. Thousands of victims are subject to sexual abuse every day. In majority of the instances, the abuse occurs before the victim reaches the age of 18. The abuse normally causes the victim to have psychological problems as they grow older such as repression. Repression is used to describe the way emotionally painful events could be blocked out of conscious awareness so that their painful effects would not have to be experienced (Terr 16). This theory of repression has been the center of debate for many psychologists. Recently, court c