I've posted here stories of child abuse from when I was a school admin in rural, southern Vermont in the late '80s, all disturbing, all with elements of the depraved and unexpected. Several weeks back the New York Times reminded me of those horrid incidents when it ran a piece about Safe Horizon, a social service organization that runs four child advocacy centers in New York.
Safe Horizon says there are some signs of violence or abuse that are, of course, more overt than others and that "suspected abuse is enough of a reason to contact authorities." Safe Horizons urges you not to think you need proof in order to report. I can tell you that had we, the admins at Green Mountain Uinion High, waited, there's a good shot that some kids would have died. No one, of course, suggests that you exercise a hair-trigger; I do know that it's better to report judiciously even if mistakenly, rather than to hold back.
In one instance, I found human fingers in jars on a living room hearth mantle in a home with children, two fourteen-year-old twin girls whose unusual degree of absenteeism led a county social worker, our school counselor, and me, to investigate. I brought in the police, we all testified at a hearing, and the girls were removed and then placed in a far better circumstance in northern Vermont as more in that home was uncovered. We, as well as the court, made the right series of decisions.
--
Safe Horizon :: Moving victims of violence from crisis to confidence
--
Safe Horizon lists ten signs; be aware of them, please.
. unexplained injuries, especially burns or bruises in the shape of objects
. changes in behavior, such as becoming more aggressive or more withdrawn
. return to earlier behaviors, such as thumb-sucking, bed-wetting, or fear of the dark
. fear of going home
. changes in eating that may result in weight gain or loss
. changes in sleeping, including nightmares or difficulty falling asleep
. changes in school performanse or attendance
. lack of personal care/hygiene
. risk-taking behaviors such as drug-use or carrying a weapon
. inappropriate sexual behaviors or use of explicit sexual language
Needless to say, you should use good judgement as to numbers of incidents, intensity of behavior, length of behavior. My experience in schools, tells me, though, if we're to err, better to err in defense of kids.
(One day, soon, I'll repost the piece on these twins.)
----
Prevalence (wiki)
United States and Europe
Child sexual abuse occurs frequently in Western society.[140] The rate of prevalence can be difficult to determine.[141][142][143]
The estimates for the United States vary widely. A literature review of 23 studies found rates of 3% to 37% for males and 8% to 71% for females, which produced an average of 17% for boys and 28% for girls,[148] while a statistical analysis based on 16 cross-sectional studies estimated the rate to be 7.2% for males and 14.5% for females.[14]
The US Department of Health and Human Services reported 83,600 substantiated reports of sexually abused children in 2005.[149][150] Including incidents which were not reported would make the total number even larger.[151]
In schools
In US schools, according to the United States Department of Education,[158] "nearly 9.6% of students are targets of educator sexual misconduct sometime during their school career." In studies of student sex abuse by male and female educators, male students were reported as targets in ranges from 23% to 44%.[158] In U.S. school settings same-sex (female and male) sexual misconduct against students by educators "ranges from 18–28% of reported cases, depending on the study"[159]
Underreported forms
Significant underreporting of sexual abuse of boys by both women and men is believed to occur due to sex stereotyping, social denial, the minimization of male victimization, and the relative lack of research on sexual abuse of boys.[160] Sexual victimization of boys by their mothers or other female relatives is especially rarely researched or reported. Sexual abuse of girls by their mothers, and other related and/or unrelated adult females is beginning to be researched and reported despite the highly taboo nature of female-female child sex abuse. In studies where students are asked about sex offenses, they report higher levels of female sex offenders than found in adult reports.[161] This underreporting has been attributed to cultural denial of female-perpetrated child sex abuse,[162] because "males have been socialized to believe they should be flattered or appreciative of sexual interest from a female."[104] Journalist Cathy Young writes that under-reporting is contributed to by the difficulty of people, including jurors, in seeing a male as a "true victim".[163]
TIP:
Enter the amount, and click "Tip" to submit!
Poor Woman
Chicken Mãâàn
Dianne Schuch - Lindsey
nerd cred
jmac1949
Deborah Méndez Wilson
Salon.com
Comments
I thank places such as Safe Horizon for making things better.
The laws are very strict in some states and some folks can be branded, for example, as sex offenders, for the weirdest of reasons.
For example, in NJ, a couple of kids pulled down their pants and sat on another kid's face to fart on him. The victim's mother reported it to DYFS and the Police and the bullies are now branded as sex offenders under Meagan's Law. They have to register with authorities wherever they go. They will not be allowed in libraries, museums, public swimming pools and the like.
Their lives as adolescents and teens are basically ruined by this allegation, charge and conviction of "sexual abuse," which I think was a little harsh.
I am all for charging and convicting the heinous abusers out there. But sometimes mass hysteria among the populace, stirred up by the media, causes legislatures to pass laws that are highly draconian and do not serve the spirit of justice.
Here's a link about the case. I'd like your opinion on the same.
http://blog.nj.com/njv_brian_campbell/2011/07/when_horseplay_becomes_a_life.html
This is wrong on so many levels.
I agree with RW on the matter he brings up for discussion. There was a recent incident here where a 13 year old boy playing football did a dance on the field in public and the school received a report that this kid's dancing on the field was perceived by the moron reporting this dancing boy's behavior as sexual. When the parents were notified by the football coaches, the report was dismissed immediately, following much laughter coming from both ends who knew the report was fabricated upon an adult who attempted to subject the boy and his parents to an humiliating and time-wasting experience which involved the coaches and administrators queries all involved with the report.
These nuances cannot easily be discussed in fll in a brief post and is the reason I included the Safe Horizon web site.
Thanks!
Here's a case where an officer arrested a woman in a CVS, and accused her of child abuse and endangering the welfare of a child, because the photos showed her kids posing with a licensed crossbow and paint-gun weapons.
Cops, too, abuse the "child abuse" reporting regime, and they use it to bully and intimidate folks in the field.
It probably cost this woman over $10,000 to file an appeal in federal court to clear her name.
I like a social welfare state. But sometimes the nanny state, when it makes mistakes, it can totally ruin your life.
Lezlie
Thank you for your time, incite and understanding of such a raw subject.