A Silent Epidemic

The recent incidents at Penn State have stunned the nation. News of this scandal has dominated the news for a couple of weeks as the nation has been shocked by the actions of a trusted and revered sports hero. What we need to realize is that child sexual abuse is a hidden epidemic in our country and has been for generations.

Perhaps it takes the exposure of trusted a figure like a football coach or a clergyman to call this problem to our attention but the fact is that millions of American children have been victimized. Even as you read this someone is being violated and someone is failing to report such abuse.

In Massachusetts alone just in the past six months, we have learned about the decades-long sexual abuse of boys treated by renowned pediatrician Dr. Melvin Levin of Children’s Hospital, the revealed boyhood sexual abuse of Senator Scott Brown by a counselor at a Cape Cod summer camp, the sexual abuse of young female tennis players by former Massachusetts coach and International Tennis Hall of Famer Bob Hewitt. Many more current incidents of child sexual abuse involving less well-known abusers appear weekly in local newspapers all across our state.   

Predictably, the Sandusky/Paterno case has prompted the media to focus on who knew what and when. Legislators rush to file bills to strengthen reporting requirements, the alleged abuser is arrested and charged, and we all express sorry for the children who have been violated and for their families who are distressed beyond what we can even imagine. 

But the truth is that these after-the-fact responses are insufficient to address what the American Medical Association has labeled “…a silent, violent epidemic.”  It’s time to support efforts aimed at preventing child sexual abuse from happening in the first place.  This is what Massachusetts Citizens for Children (MCC), lead agency for the Enough Abuse Campaign, has been working to do since the Campaign was launched in 2002.

A public opinion poll of Massachusetts citizens conducted in 2007 documented that: 

• 80% of citizens believe child sexual abuse is a serious problem in our state
•  75% said they believe it is preventable
•  64% said they would be willing to participate in local community trainings about child sexual abuse and how they can prevent it. 

Here’s what you can do:

1. Educate yourself about the real facts of child sexual abuse so that you can be an informed advocate for your children and all the children in your family and community. 
2. Get involved with the Enough Abuse Campaign, a Massachusetts effort that has been recognized nationally as an effective model to mobilize communities and educate parents, youth, and a range of professionals and other adults about child sexual abuse and how to prevent it. 

I urge you to go to http://www.enoughabuse.org/ and watch the brief video “a silent epidemic”.