Throughout the last few weeks we have seen many supporters of Creative Frontiers bad mouth the alleged victims. We have seen them refer to these young women as seeking BMWs, being in this for a payday, as liars and as being abused by their parents, CHPD and DSS. These victims have names, they have dreams and hopes. They have parents and some of these victims are old enough to see what is being said about them.
A victim is not a nameless person, an accuser or a troublemaker. He or she is a human who, in one instant, had their innocence taken from them without consent. She/he did not ask for it to happen, they did not provoke their abuser and more importantly, they bear no fault in the abuse that happened to them. Let me repeat that, it is not their fault.
Sexual violence is the most under reported violent crime in the United States. Approximately only 37% of rapes are reported according to the FBI however the US Department of Justice estimates only 26% are reported*. Why are the numbers so low? Rape and molestation are crimes that often leave the victim filled with shame, guilt and humiliation. Once the story is told to a law enforcement official, it has to be retold over and over and over again before the abuser may even be arrested. One would think each retelling would make it easier but it doesn't, not by a long shot. As the amount of people hearing your story grows, your guilt grows, your shame grows, your humiliation grows. Law Enforcement officials have the unenviable task of asking questions to throw the victim off, of playing "devil's advocate" if you will.
You see, abuse victims often may feel victimized by the very people trying to achieve justice for them. Once the report is made, the complaint is sent to the DA to review and charges may be filed if there is a strong enough case. None of this compares to the raw humiliation of the medical exams that take place prior to all of this. IF the DA files charges, the victim may have face a trial in which he/she has to once again retell their story in front of their abuser and then be questioned by the accuser's defense attorney. Before the trial though, the victim will have to recount their abuse over and over for trial prep. They must be in top shape to undergo cross examination to not break down entirely.
While justice may be served against their abuser, the emotional and mental damage remains. Victim Advocates will recommend very qualified counselors, support groups and the like. But again, this involves telling the story again. We hope that at some stage, the victim will make the transformation from victim to survivor. Many do, some do not, and their pain may last a lifetime. Are you aware that of mental health clients, sexual abuse victims were 55% more likely to have had at least one suicide attempt? No one forgets what the abuse felt like emotionally, mentally or physically. The majority of parents would not inflict this type of mental anguish on their children. To have 6 sets of parents and 2 staff members all willing to needlessly inflict this damage on children is preposterous.
The other problem we have though is the court of public opinion. When the media reports on crimes, generally there is a rush to judgement of innocence or guilt. We have seen that plainly in the case of Robert Adams. We do not know if he is guilty or not. We do not have the evidence Law Enforcement officials have, nor were we there at the time of the alleged crimes. We simply cannot know the status of his innocence or guilt unless we were, in fact, there. We do know that at least 2 adults saw enough for charges to be brought. We do know that at least 6 children said something criminal happened. These children, or young adults now, do not deserve or need to be re-victimized by CFS supporters. Standing by your man doesn't mean you have to take down the person, or people, he is accused by. It means that you can profess your belief in his innocence and do what you can to assist in his defense. You can have grace and dignity throughout this situation, something we haven't seen much of in some of Robert Adams' supporters.
*Source: http://www.feminist.com/antiviolence/facts.html
It's getting even more ridiculous. A FB post from today:
ReplyDelete"CALL TO ACTION FOR SUPPORTERS OF MR. BOB! CFS is exactly like the McMartin Preschool case whereby an innocent family was railroaded and DESTROYED by overzealous and cash strapped government agencies, false accusations, skewed media reporting and sensationalism, resulting in exactly what the Adams are going through right now--financial ruin, character assassination, negative public opinion, threats of physical harm and emotional scars on students, parents, staff and the owners that will last a lifetime."
I'd like to know how this case is EXACTLY like the McMartin case? Have the CFS children come forward talking about underground tunnels and aliens?? I'm sorry, but these people are making themselves look insane!! They can contact whomever they want, ultimately it will be up to the jury to decide.
At least the number of "likes" is dwindling, so maybe some people are coming to their senses? One can hope!
An excellent post. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteWhat does a victim look like? Anna C. Salter, Ph.D, author of the very fine book, "Predators, Pedophiles, Rapists, and Other Sex Offenders: Who They Are, How They Operate, And How We Can Protect Ourselves and Our Children" quotes these statistics:
~The most common age at which sexual abuse begins is age three
~The average child molester victimizes between 50-150 children before he is arrested and many more after he is arrested
~One in three girls will have sexual contact with an adult
~One in six boys will have sexual contact with an adult
So what does a victim look like? He/she looks like a family member, a good friend, a police officer, the cashier at the grocery, the panhandler on the corner, the CEO in the boardroom, the celebrity on the red carpet and often just like the man/woman/child in our own mirror.