Since 1997, I have worked on and off for Casa, the Center For Positive Social Change, here in Phoenix, which was known as the Center Against Sexual Abuse when I first started there as a prevention specialist. In many cases, children just need the right opportunity to speak out about what has happened to them. These children have been “groomed” to, at least at first and potentially for years and years, accept what is happening to them and remain silent. When we tie the two RAINN statistics together, it turns out that 44,437 of the substantiated yearly cases of child sexual abuse most likely are perpetrated by someone the child knows. It’s someone they know, most likely someone they live with and love, and possibly someone whom they trust implicitly.
It’s not stranger danger that children who have been sexually abused have to fear. This is not the case, though. On the RAINN site, they also give the statistic that 93 percent of children who are sexually abused are abused by someone they know. Many people think of sexual abuse as something that happens when a creepy stranger lures a child into his (or her, yes, women sexually abuse children, too, but not as often as men) car with candy. When you consider that most experts in the field of sexual violence say that only 12 to 30 percent of all cases of sexual abuse against children are reported, this greatly increases the scope of the problem. Simple math shows that this means just under 48,000 cases of child sexual abuse are substantiated every year, or just under 1,000 per state.
LEAVING NEVERLAND PART 3 HOW TO
The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN), which is a fantastic source of information for anyone needing to know how to help, prevent, or understand sexual violence, currently states that “every 11 minutes, child protective services substantiates or finds evidence for a claim of child sexual abuse.” The film is uncomfortable because it explores how the grooming process works in child sexual abuse better than any other film or television show ever has.
We already know these things are terrible. Leaving Neverland is an uncomfortable film to watch, but not because the subject matter is extremely controversial or because it relates to the allegations of sexual abuse of multiple boys against the late Michael Jackson. on March 3, will open up the eyes of parents, teachers, and caregivers of children everywhere as to how this crime really works. There is hope this documentary, which was released on HBO in the U.S. If we are being honest, it is definitely time to be candid about sexual violence: We don't know how to talk about it and we don't want to talk about it either. The recent documentary Leaving Neverland by British filmmaker Dan Reed shows that child sexual abuse is a complex crime with multiple facets, and that many people simply do not know how to talk about it. Child sexual abuse has destroyed families, ruined lives, and made the American public wince at the mere thought of it for way too long. Unfortunately, many children are not taught this rule, and for literally millions of people alive today, the result is abuse capable of affecting every aspect of their lives. This is a simple yet effective rule that should be taught to children everywhere. Here’s a crazy thought: No child should be touched on the private parts of their body unless it is to keep them clean or healthy. Today is the first of four lessons from the documentary.
LEAVING NEVERLAND PART 3 SERIES
After watching Leaving Neverland, the HBO documentary about Michael Jackson's alleged sexual relations with children, he was moved to write this series of stories for Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention month. Tom Reardon has worked with victims of sexual violence in the Phoenix area for more than two decades.