09-13-2016, 09:22 AM
Disturbing that allegations are still so casually dismissed after Jimmy Savile, after Jerry Sandusky, after the Catholic Church spending $4 billion defending priests guilty of sexual abuse of children, after Cosby...
Please consider the following:
http://www.victimsofcrime.org/media/reporting-on-child-sexual-abuse/child-sexual-abuse-statistics
From the above website:
Child Sexual Abuse Statistics
The prevalence of child sexual abuse is difficult to determine because it is often not reported; experts agree that the incidence is far greater than what is reported to authorities. CSA is also not uniformly defined, so statistics may vary. Statistics below represent some of the research done on child sexual abuse.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Children’s Bureau report Child Maltreatment 2010 found that 9.2% of victimized children were sexually assaulted (page 24).
Studies by David Finkelhor, Director of the Crimes Against Children Research Center, show that:
1 in 5 girls and 1 in 20 boys is a victim of child sexual abuse;
Self-report studies show that 20% of adult females and 5-10% of adult males recall a childhood sexual assault or sexual abuse incident;
During a one-year period in the U.S., 16% of youth ages 14 to 17 had been sexually victimized;
Over the course of their lifetime, 28% of U.S. youth ages 14 to 17 had been sexually victimized;
Children are most vulnerable to CSA between the ages of 7 and 13.
According to a 2003 National Institute of Justice report, 3 out of 4 adolescents who have been sexually assaulted were victimized by someone they knew well (page 5).
A Bureau of Justice Statistics report shows 1.6 % (sixteen out of one thousand) of children between the ages of 12-17 were victims of rape/sexual assault (page 18).
A study conducted in 1986 found that 63% of women who had suffered sexual abuse by a family member also reported a rape or attempted rape after the age of 14. Recent studies in 2000, 2002, and 2005 have all concluded similar results (page 8).
Children who had an experience of rape or attempted rape in their adolescent years were 13.7 times more likely to experience rape or attempted rape in their first year of college (page 9).
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The above says "1 in five girls" is a victim of child abuse. There is a consensus among many other experts that the actual number is at least 1 in five children, with girls victimized more often. There is a line in the same summary above affirming this - stating 28% of American 14-17 years olds reported they had been sexually victimized in their lifetimes.
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[url= https://www.ncronline.org/news/accountability/ncr-research-costs-sex-abuse-crisis-us-church-underestimated]https://www.ncronline.org/news/accountability/ncr-research-costs-sex-abuse-crisis-us-church-underestimated[/url]
The dollar figure mentioned in the opening of this post pertaining to the Catholic Church expenditures defending pedophiles comes from the above website.
Expert Richard Sipe estimated in 1976 that 6% of Roman Catholic priests had sexually assaulted a child. You can verify that here (item 14):
http://www.awrsipe.com/Articles/Knowledge%20of%20sexual%20activity.html
I believe Sipe has more recently put the number of priests guilty of sexually assaulting children at closer to 10%.
To learn more about the scope of abuse in the Catholic Church check this out:
http://www.bishop-accountability.org/
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Children are reluctant to report abuse, so are adults.
But, recently this article affirmed the fact 1/5 college females reported having been sexually assaulted since enrolling in college:
http://college.usatoday.com/2015/09/21/controversial-1-in-5-sexual-assault-statistic-validated-in-new-national-survey/
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In light of the above I humbly ask people to be less casually dismissive of allegations of sexual assault. Yes, the convenient timing can make it look like a shakedown, and the notion that "you" could be falsely accused is frightening. But the fact is, children (and adults) often struggle for years to find the courage to disclose their victimization. When they do, whether the timing is best for the perpetrator is not and should not be a major concern. It is often fear and guilt that other people are going to be hurt which compels a survivor to take the difficult step of going public. The thanks they get is being dismissed as opportunists because the timing is bad for a candidate or a celebrity is being cast in a negative light. Think about how absurd it is to say, "couldn't he wait until after the movie premier?" or "couldn't she wait until after the campaign?"
Mike McQueary http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/10546874/mike-mcqueary-former-penn-state-assistant-said-was-sexual-abuse-victim-sources-say was a pariah for reporting Sandusky. Some hated him for not kicking Sandusky's ass, some hated him for "betraying" Sandusky and Joe Paterno. But it wasn't a shakedown of the college, and McQueary wasn't the bad guy. McQueary was the good guy, and still got a raft of shit from all corners. And, according the link above he is also a sexual abuse survivor. And he filed a whistle blower suit against Penn State. Didn't know about those last two developments, but they point to the complexity of such happenings.
My point in bringing up McQueary is 1. since it is an ESPN link maybe more people will look at it more than the others and then maybe go look at the others and think about this a little more 2 even witnesses who blow the whistle get dumped on - think how a victim feels and why they would be reluctant to face such scorn and 3. incidences of false allegations are very rare - in fact there are far more unreported assaults than false allegations.
Nobody wanted to believe Jo Pa and/or Penn State looked the other way, nobody wanted to believe thousands of priests raped boys and girls from coast to coast in every diocese and almost every parish, nobody wants to hear... but denial doesn't change the reality.
Please consider the following:
http://www.victimsofcrime.org/media/reporting-on-child-sexual-abuse/child-sexual-abuse-statistics
From the above website:
Child Sexual Abuse Statistics
The prevalence of child sexual abuse is difficult to determine because it is often not reported; experts agree that the incidence is far greater than what is reported to authorities. CSA is also not uniformly defined, so statistics may vary. Statistics below represent some of the research done on child sexual abuse.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Children’s Bureau report Child Maltreatment 2010 found that 9.2% of victimized children were sexually assaulted (page 24).
Studies by David Finkelhor, Director of the Crimes Against Children Research Center, show that:
1 in 5 girls and 1 in 20 boys is a victim of child sexual abuse;
Self-report studies show that 20% of adult females and 5-10% of adult males recall a childhood sexual assault or sexual abuse incident;
During a one-year period in the U.S., 16% of youth ages 14 to 17 had been sexually victimized;
Over the course of their lifetime, 28% of U.S. youth ages 14 to 17 had been sexually victimized;
Children are most vulnerable to CSA between the ages of 7 and 13.
According to a 2003 National Institute of Justice report, 3 out of 4 adolescents who have been sexually assaulted were victimized by someone they knew well (page 5).
A Bureau of Justice Statistics report shows 1.6 % (sixteen out of one thousand) of children between the ages of 12-17 were victims of rape/sexual assault (page 18).
A study conducted in 1986 found that 63% of women who had suffered sexual abuse by a family member also reported a rape or attempted rape after the age of 14. Recent studies in 2000, 2002, and 2005 have all concluded similar results (page 8).
Children who had an experience of rape or attempted rape in their adolescent years were 13.7 times more likely to experience rape or attempted rape in their first year of college (page 9).
***************************************
The above says "1 in five girls" is a victim of child abuse. There is a consensus among many other experts that the actual number is at least 1 in five children, with girls victimized more often. There is a line in the same summary above affirming this - stating 28% of American 14-17 years olds reported they had been sexually victimized in their lifetimes.
***************************************
[url= https://www.ncronline.org/news/accountability/ncr-research-costs-sex-abuse-crisis-us-church-underestimated]https://www.ncronline.org/news/accountability/ncr-research-costs-sex-abuse-crisis-us-church-underestimated[/url]
The dollar figure mentioned in the opening of this post pertaining to the Catholic Church expenditures defending pedophiles comes from the above website.
Expert Richard Sipe estimated in 1976 that 6% of Roman Catholic priests had sexually assaulted a child. You can verify that here (item 14):
http://www.awrsipe.com/Articles/Knowledge%20of%20sexual%20activity.html
I believe Sipe has more recently put the number of priests guilty of sexually assaulting children at closer to 10%.
To learn more about the scope of abuse in the Catholic Church check this out:
http://www.bishop-accountability.org/
**************************************
Children are reluctant to report abuse, so are adults.
But, recently this article affirmed the fact 1/5 college females reported having been sexually assaulted since enrolling in college:
http://college.usatoday.com/2015/09/21/controversial-1-in-5-sexual-assault-statistic-validated-in-new-national-survey/
***************************************
In light of the above I humbly ask people to be less casually dismissive of allegations of sexual assault. Yes, the convenient timing can make it look like a shakedown, and the notion that "you" could be falsely accused is frightening. But the fact is, children (and adults) often struggle for years to find the courage to disclose their victimization. When they do, whether the timing is best for the perpetrator is not and should not be a major concern. It is often fear and guilt that other people are going to be hurt which compels a survivor to take the difficult step of going public. The thanks they get is being dismissed as opportunists because the timing is bad for a candidate or a celebrity is being cast in a negative light. Think about how absurd it is to say, "couldn't he wait until after the movie premier?" or "couldn't she wait until after the campaign?"
Mike McQueary http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/10546874/mike-mcqueary-former-penn-state-assistant-said-was-sexual-abuse-victim-sources-say was a pariah for reporting Sandusky. Some hated him for not kicking Sandusky's ass, some hated him for "betraying" Sandusky and Joe Paterno. But it wasn't a shakedown of the college, and McQueary wasn't the bad guy. McQueary was the good guy, and still got a raft of shit from all corners. And, according the link above he is also a sexual abuse survivor. And he filed a whistle blower suit against Penn State. Didn't know about those last two developments, but they point to the complexity of such happenings.
My point in bringing up McQueary is 1. since it is an ESPN link maybe more people will look at it more than the others and then maybe go look at the others and think about this a little more 2 even witnesses who blow the whistle get dumped on - think how a victim feels and why they would be reluctant to face such scorn and 3. incidences of false allegations are very rare - in fact there are far more unreported assaults than false allegations.
Nobody wanted to believe Jo Pa and/or Penn State looked the other way, nobody wanted to believe thousands of priests raped boys and girls from coast to coast in every diocese and almost every parish, nobody wants to hear... but denial doesn't change the reality.
JOHN ROBERTS: From time to time in the years to come, I hope you will be treated unfairly so that you will come to know the value of justice... I wish you bad luck, again, from time to time so that you will be conscious of the role of chance in life and understand that your success is not completely deserved and that the failure of others is not completely deserved either.
