EXPLOITED CHILDREN

SPEAK OUT WITH MONICA

Children exploited either by physical, sexual or emotional abuses, homelessness, depression, neglect or human trafficking are just some of the horrific problems that kids face. In the United States there are over 3 million reports of child abuse annually. Child sexual abuse is on the rise with children younger and younger being desired.

(CNN) Child sex abuse lawsuits are expected to be filed against the Archdiocese of New York, Jehovah's Witnesses, Rockefeller University, the Boy Scouts, Jeffrey Epstein and others on Wednesday, the first day of a one-year window intended to give victims a chance at justice delayed.

The New York Child Victims Act, signed into law on February 14, expands the ways that those who suffered sexual abuse as children can use the legal system to address the damage.

In particular, the law created a one-year period, starting Wednesday, when any adult survivors of child sexual abuse could sue an abuser or a negligent institution, no matter how long ago the abuse took place. After years of legislative stalling, the bill was finally passed and six months ago Gov. Cuomo signed into law the Child Victim Act, which expands the statute of limitations on certain sexual offences perpetuated against minors.

The idea behind the law is that many victims of child sexual abuse keep it a secret for years, well beyond the previous statute of limitations, out of shame and fear. This law gives them a chance to "reclaim their dignity," said Michael Polenberg of Safe Horizon, a victim assistance non-profit that worked to pass the law.

"For survivors who understand what has happened to them and know in their hearts what happened to them, they get to name that person in court," he said.

Child sex abuse survivors Joelle Casteix, Jeff Dion, and Bridie Farrell of the Zero Abuse Project said in a joint statement that the law gives victims the power and ability to come forward, find justice and hold people accountable.

"The sheer volume of lawsuits filed today is both simultaneously heartbreaking and encouraging," they said. "It is indicative of just how deep-rooted the problem of child sex abuse is in our country."   

This new law gives victims some monetary satisfaction and maybe some closure of having their voices heard about what was done to them, BUT it doesn’t help the emotions that will forever be scared, or the triggers that will be a lifelong plaque. It doesn’t give them their childhood back. A child’s mental, emotional and social development are deeply altered.                                                             Read the rest of the article - https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/14/us/new-york-child-victims-law/index.html

Wikipedia documents that girls begin the process of puberty at age 10 or 11, and boys at age 11 or 12 and the cut off point being age 13.

The life of a child is forever changed. When they should be carefree and enjoying their childhood, they are snatched into a dark nightmare world of pain and horror. Long term effects include but are not limited to are survivors tend to display more destructive behaviors, eating disorders, stress or anxiety, nightmares, amnesia around parts of their childhood, may hinder the growth and development of relationships even hinder the ability to have a normal intimate relationship because its overshadowed by experiencing the sexual abuse and leaving the survivor with a lack of sexual interest, difficulty becoming aroused or feeling emotionally distant or not present during sex OR  survivors can display compulsive or inappropriate sexual behaviors.

What is heartbreaking is the sheer volume of child abuse cases and how rampant human trafficking is. Look at the Jeffery Epstein case that’s currently in the news. Jeffery Epstein was a convicted pedophile. According to Merriam-Webster the definition of pedophilia: sexual perversion in which children are the preferred sexual object specifically a prepubescent child.

The New York Times in an article written by Jodi Kantor, Mike McIntire and Vanessa Friedman in July says: A strange thing happened when Jeffrey Epstein came back to New York City after being branded a sex offender: His reputation appeared to rise. People like Katie Couric and George Stephanopoulos dined at His Manhattan mansion with a British royal. Mr. Epstein has been photographed at a “billionaires’ dinner” attended by tech titans like Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk. A page on Harvard Universities’ website lauding his accomplishments. The Clintons, Powerful female friends served as social guarantors: Peggy Siegal, a gatekeeper for A-list events, including him in movie screenings, and Dr. Eva Andersson-Dubin, a champion of woman’s health, maintained a friendship with him. Including participating in a Caribbean gathering of some of the world’s top scientists, including Dr. Hawking; all taking place over a decade of time. The earliest releases listed Mr. Epstein’s personal contact information; later ones had the names of media consultant. New York Times article goes on to say some of the ersatz news stories found their way onto sites like Forbes and The Huffington Post. Mr. Epstein started mingling with celebrity scientists like Stephan Jay Gould and Steven Pinker and developed friendships with former Harvard president Lawrence H. Summers and law professor Alan Dershowitz, who later helped to defend him. The New York article continues to read the full article go to nytimes.com

The point I’m trying to make is this man Jeffrey Epstein was a known pedophile and a convicted sexual offender for over a decade and yet the above people-maintained friendships with him. How many children’s lives he personally traumatized or destroyed or orchestrated traumatized by others displays a lack of integrity, empathy, a lack of compassion to the lives they were destroying. The loss, the lack of confidence, the low self-esteem, the loneliness and trauma these children experience was not felt by Mr. Epstein and those he associated with. They destroy lives and walk away without apology because they think they are superior.

There is so much that can be written on this subject. Before I close, I want to end on a note of hope, or becoming triumphant or victorious.

I would encourage you to read the article How Victims of Sexual Abuse Can Get the Better of Satan by Mary Demuth at christianitytoday.com The article goes on to say: Just over 25 years ago, Christian therapist Dan Allender released The Wounded Heart: Hope for Adult Victims of Childhood Sexual Abuse. Now, after decades of clinical practice, Allender has published a follow-up: Healing the Wounded Heart: The Heartache of Sexual Abuse and the Hope of Transformation.

It is more than the biology of trauma it is the spirituality of trauma. Satan is the accuser, he comes to steal, to kill, and to destroy, but the good news is this that Jesus is the healer who comes to give life and to give it more abundantly.

Trauma To Triumph Family Ranches is a much needed residential program that is need to give hope and a place of refuge for the wounded to recover and become whole again.