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National Association of Adult Survivors of Child Abuse
National Association of Adult Survivors of Child Abuse
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NAASCA Highlights
EDITOR'S NOTE: Occasionally we bring you articles from local newspapers, web sites and other sources that constitute but a small percentage of the information available to those who are interested in the issues of child abuse and recovery from it.
We also present original articles we hope will inform the community ... |
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Tracy Campion, NAASCA volunteer
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The Cycle of “Discovery” and Suppression
EDITOR'S NOTE: We're proud to introduce the work of one of our newer NAASCA family members and volunteers, professional journalist Tracy Campion from Seattle. She'll be offering articles based on numerous topics that are important and related to our cause.
The singleness of purpose at NAASCA is to fully examine the many issues related to child abuse and trauma, generally speaking from two perspectives: educating the public and offering hope to the still suffering victim of childhood sexual abuse, physical violence, emotional traumas and neglect.
In this first article, Tracy examines the “discovery” (or more accurately the “RE-discovery”) of the personal horrors and societal cost of childhood abuse, and how difficult it has been to impress on our culture the importance of these as priority issues deserving of our never-ending attention. We need our voices, and our message, to be heard.
Welcome aboard, Tracy .. and welcome to the NAASCA family! |
Unheard: Breaking the Cycle of Child Abuse “Discovery” and Suppression
by Tracy Campion, NAASCA volunteer
Cases of child abuse – and particularly, child sexual abuse – are subject to the mercurial nature of human curiosity and ensuing media coverage. When a case is first “discovered” and hits the media, it sparks up debate, discussion, and demands for reform. But once a child abuse case has lost its novelty, it becomes suppressed, like so many other cases before it.
For more than 100 years, tens of millions of adult survivors of child abuse have experienced this disturbing cycle of discovery and suppression. But recent research into the prevalence of child abuse has yielded a “discovery” that's altogether different, bringing about renewed awareness and opening a long-awaited dialogue that could have the staying power that survivors have been searching for.
An illuminating article published in the Journal of Child Abuse and Neglect more than two decades ago examined the historical absence of child abuse discussions. The article chronicled child abuse's troubling cycle of discovery and suppression – and how an awareness of prior cycles can help professionals mitigate attempts to minimize the problem of child abuse.
Twenty years after this article was written, child abuse is being “discovered” again; but this time, the discovery is in the sheer number of survivors. According to Child Abuse.org, a report of child abuse is made once every ten seconds in the United States.
Every year in the U.S., there are more than 3 million reports of child abuse involving more than 6 million children. In 2012 alone, state agencies discovered 686,000 victims of child abuse, which would fill ten football stadiums. But with the propensity for victims of abuse to remain silent about their experiences, how many other sports stadiums could be filled with victims whose stories have gone undocumented?
According to a 2011 article in the New York Times, one in five women have reported being sexually assaulted. An article that came out in the United Kingdom's Guardian during the same year reported similar figures for child victims of abuse or neglect. But if these are the rates being reported, how many instances of abuse have gone unreported – and how many adult survivors of child abuse are still waiting to be heard?
Multiple studies have found that most child abuse goes unreported – and as a result, the majority of adult survivors of child abuse have probably remained silent about their abuse, as well. But thanks to widespread coverage of abuse cases such as the Jerry Sandusky case, the dialogue about child victims of abuse has progressed in a meaningful – and transformative – way.
The topic of child abuse has been “discovered” once again, entering mainstream discussions about abusers and survivors, of healing and community. But these “discoveries” can't be lost, even after they've lost their “novelty” and front-page status; they need to continue to move the conversation forward.
Given the imbalance of power between adults and children, it's not uncommon for children to be hesitant to come forward when they're abused. As evidenced by the Sandusky case, adult survivors of abuse can be remiss to recount instances of abuse, even after their abusers have been caught – but millions of survivors now know that they're not alone, and while painful, their stories aren't necessarily unique.
One Sandusky abuse survivor, Aaron Fisher, was initially referred to as “Victim 1.” He stated that reporting the crimes was even harder than experiencing the abuse – but he didn't allow his story to remain unheard.
The Sandusky case showed other adult abuse survivors that hesitation to report abuse is normal – and it also showed survivors that they don't have to carry that burden over the course of their lifetimes. No survivor who wants to tell their story should have to be unheard ever again.
Recent discoveries about child abuse can't be allowed to slide into suppression once again. The sheer magnitude of survivors is a discovery that has staying power – but only if survivors continue to come forward. The dialogue about child abuse has begun, but we have to work together to add our collective voices to break the cycle of discovery and suppression.
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