For those of you who know me personally and know my work history, you know that I am an advocate to prevent, intervene upon, and treat Child Sexual Abuse.
I readily acknowledge child abuse in all forms is still a problem, but I have singled out Child Sexual Abuse to work on for the following reasons:
- Child Sexual Abuse remains one of the least talked about forms of abuse,
- Most adults cannot identity signs and symptoms of Child Sexual Abuse,
- Most adults assume Child Sexual Abuse has a physical form only and miss many other types of sexual abuse occurring in their homes and communities,
- Most child protective services organizations, courts, and district attorney offices only tend to intervene in cases where there is physical evidence or the abuser is caught in the act (which doesn’t happen often),
- Many adults are still not comfortable teaching children about body safety, and
- Most adults still teach their children about the myth of “stranger danger.”
These are just some of the reasons that I focus on Child Sexual Abuse. As you can see from my list there is a lot of work that needs to be done. Throughout my career, I have worked on each of these issues. Sexual abuse still invokes shame, fear, and secrecy in a way that other forms of abuse just don’t. I also believe there is more urgency with Child Sexual Abuse compared with other types of abuse. The average adult generally knows the signs of physical abuse and neglect so there tends to be more intervention.
It is estimated that only 1 in 10 children will disclose sexual abuse while they are still a child. This means that we are not helping most sexually abused children! These statistics are credible to me because of the many survivors I have worked with who have not told their story for 10, 20, 30—even 50 years after the abuse occurred.
We rely too heavily on disclosures from children and this is not the right strategy. More needs to be done to educate adults about prevention, intervention, and treatment. It’s almost as if we are over relying on children themselves. Adults need to take the lead on this issue. While I believe children should be taught about body safety in schools and at home, how many times can we teach children and not the adults who are actually responsible for them?
The impact of Child Sexual Abuse is deep and long lasting. The issue has impacted me like many of you personally and professionally. I have seen childhoods stolen, but I have also seen adulthoods stolen by sexual abuse. I chose Child Sexual Abuse because I want to give voice to the issue. I want to speak for those who can’t speak for themselves and I want to teach adults to be responsible for protecting children.