As we all know - we are but at the tip of the iceberg with reports of previous child sexual abuse coming out. Some abuses may have occurred 20 or 30 years ago, but people are slowly finding their voices. In looking for a graphic of an iceberg, I came across Freud's View of the Human Mind: The Mental Iceberg:
And this seems to serve two purposes when it comes to Child Sexual Abuse and the seemingly "increased" reporting.
We are all seeking the same things - love, acceptance, being "normal." So on a conscious level, we know that people will perceive us in a certain way. "Perception is Reality" and the old saying, you only get one chance to make a first impression comes to mind.
Therefore victims of CSA may on a preconscious level have the memories and stored knowledge of their previous abuse, but aren't necessarily going to share that with others. So they bury it - just as the preconscious level is buried beneath the wave of the iceberg above.
The unconscious level (buried even deeper as illustrated above), I believe, is what keeps children, and later adults, from divulging the abuse - the fears, shame of the experience, immoral urges and unacceptable sexual desires (due to the oversexualization of the child) keep the secrets buried.
But we have reached a pivotal point in our history - now that Child Sexual Abuse has become a national conversation, and more people are stepping forward to share their stories, we feel safe in telling ours. Now that we know we aren't alone and it wasn't just us, we are finding a level of comfort in slowly speaking out about our own experiences.
However, as in the Bill Conlin case, most of us are well beyond the statute of limitations. We aren't telling our stories because we want something in return - we are telling our stories because, well, at least for me, I feel I am complicit in the "coverup" if I remain silent any longer.
We had no voice then, but we are finding our voice now: "No One Spoke Up for Us": For The Children Who Had No Voice and For those finally finding Theirs+*
We are but at the tip of the iceberg, and I believe that this is so prevalent, I fear it may overwhelm the "system."
(Link to news stories after the jump)
Syracuse University
Road to Recovery president says he is treating sexual abuse victim of another coach at SU
The president of Road to Recovery, a group that supports victims of sexual abuse, said he is treating a victim who has been molested by another coach at Syracuse University.
Robert Hoatson, the president and co-founder of Road to Recovery, spoke on the advocates panel during the symposium "When Games Turn Grim: Can Media Cover Sports Scandals Responsibly?" on Thursday afternoon.
"By the way, I am working with a victim of another Syracuse University sport — a head coach," Hoatson said approximately halfway through the hour-long panel. "The reason I cannot tell you who it is and why is because the person is not there yet, but the person did give me permission, just yesterday, to say ‘you can say that much.' And who knows, maybe he'll watch today and say ‘maybe I'll go a little further here,' because these stories tend to come out in pieces."
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New York
Chancellor cracks down on “bad” teachers after sex abuse scandals
In the wake of three sex abuse cases, Chancellor Dennis Walcott announced Friday he will crack down on “bad people” in city schools.
Promising to remove any employee found to have inappropriately touched students, Walcott has ordered a review of past investigations dating back to 2000.
“We have to make sure we find out who those bad people are and that we remove those bad people,” said Walcott.
“Moving forward any individual that's involved in touching a child — and it's substantiated — will be removed.”
The change in policy -- which could lead to the dismissal of dozens of teacher and school staffers -- came after Queens teacher Wilbert Cortez was arrested Thursday on charges of touching the genitals of two boys, aged 8 and 9.
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California
Spate of arrests shows rise in reporting, not in abuse, police say
In three weeks, six L.A. Unified employees have been booked on suspicion of sex-related crimes. The Miramonte episode has sparked some people to come forward and others to be more watchful, police say.
Since authorities charged a Miramonte Elementary School teacher nearly a month ago with committing lewd acts in his classroom, the Los Angeles Unified School District has seen a flurry of arrests of school employees accused of inappropriate behavior with children.
Over the last three weeks, six employees have been booked on suspicion of sex-related crimes, while several others have been pulled from the classroom amid investigations.
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Texas
Houston teacher, school administrators charged with failure to report child abuse
HOUSTON—The top two administrators and a teacher at a Galveston County school are charged with failure to report child abuse after leaving a student’s concerns unheard for nearly three weeks, officials said.
It started in December when a 10-year-old student told her teacher that she had been sexually assaulted by a family member. After she told her teacher, no one from the school told anyone else, until 20 days later.
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South Carolina
Myrtle Beach teacher, counselor charged after 9-year-old reports sexual assault
A Myrtle Beach Intermediate School guidance counselor and teacher on Wednesday became the second and third people arrested and charged related to a report of the sexual assault of a 9-year-old girl that occurred in October, according to Myrtle Beach police.
The school employees turned themselves in to police to faces charges in the incident days after another woman was also charged.
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