ΣΧΟΛΙΑ-ΠΑΡΑΠΟΛΙΤΙΚΑ
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CSAGENESISHiding the Evil Among Us: Abuse Amnesia and Child Sexual Abuse
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
The national ethos rightfully condemns sexual predators who abuse their position of authority over trusting victims. According to one study, as many as 17% of boys and 31% of girls are victims of child sexual abuse (“CSA”). Yet, CSA does not receive anywhere near the attention it demands due to the unique innocence of children and the responsibility we have to protect them.
CSA has proven extremely persistent and underreported for many reasons. For example, research indicates that about 90% of CSA is committed by close family members, friends other people known to the victim. These children are targets because the position of trust held by the perpetrators gives them unsupervised access and creates in a child the sense that the conduct is “permitted”. The children, therefore, may not even understand there is something to report.
- When they do complain, children are often not taken seriously because they are prone to youthful imagination and misinterpretation. They can also be too scared, ashamed or simply intimidated by the belief they would not be taken seriously. These feelings are magnified in children who do not possess the same emotional and intellectual maturity as adults to deal with traumatic situations.
A phenomenon which uniquely distinguishes children from adults, however, is the fact that children may not even remember the abuse occurred. One report found that 59% of adults reporting CSA had amnesia prior to 18 and were, therefore, incapable of reporting it in a timely fashion due to the psychological trauma of the abuse.
The existence of abuse amnesia has been recognized in popular culture for centuries. Shakespeare’s King Lear, for instance, experienced amnesia following a traumatic betrayal by his daughters. Despite long standing recognition, though, abuse amnesia has remained a complicated issue with little progress because distant memories are less reliable, physical evidence is often non-existent and the fear of resurrecting the nightmare would cause other family members to be devastated or defensive in the wake of the allegations. Coupled with the low probability that the accused will be brought to justice, a victim has little incentive to come forward.
Some argue about the reliability of this data and claim that accusations based on distant memories harm the falsely accused and, worse, result in their imprisonment. That argument has some merit. However, studies of CSA suggest that the overall rate of false accusation is under 10%. The question, therefore, is whether that 10% error is acceptable to protect our children. That debate has raged for millennia. In Genesis, for example, Abraham asked the Lord whether he would destroy Sodom and all its sinners if 10 righteous people were consumed. The Lord did not destroy the city until the innocents had escaped. Clearly, our justice system imprisons the innocent and few, if any, advocate abolishing it. Why? Because at its core, the “greater good” of society warrants that a person is only entitled to a fair trial, but not necessarily the correct outcome. Otherwise, society would be making the “passive choice” to let criminals go free to harm more innocents, a choice that is less desirable than falsely convicting a much smaller number of innocents.
- CSA in all its forms comes at a terrible cost to children regardless of race, gender, religion or socio-economic status. The repercussions are suffered by the children and those around them for their entire lives. But not just the children and those close to them are harmed. We are all connected on some level and are subconsciously impacted by what happens to others. Each of us, therefore, has a vested interest in preventing the harm caused by CSA. While efforts to eradicate this evil are represented in our morals, laws and religions, not enough has been done.
Admittedly, the perfect answer does not exist. The first step, however, should be to prevent CSA by creating safe environments for our children through quality daycare, better research on the cause and treatment of pedophilia and strong deterrents. The next step would be to identify CSA early by training caregivers to recognize the signs so that counseling could be provided in an effective manner while evidence is fresh. Failure to do so enables the abuser to harm others and prevents the victim from seeking help to keep themselves and others as safe as possible.
One thing is for certain, however, CSA should not permitted to continue for another millennium and, in fact, not even for a single day. Public outrage and shows such as The Sinner should shine a light on the epidemic to create awareness and to bring more victims and witnesses of CSA forward.
Ο πόνος για την Αγία και μαρτυρική Τηλλυρία: Η χαρμολύπη της Παναγίας της Χρυσοπατερίτισσας