At first I thought that it was fluffy to blog about a Vanity
Fair article. Then I read the article.
Fluffy morphed into a fire burning in my belly. Maureen Orth wrote, The 10 Undeniable Facts About the Woody Allen
Sexual-Abuse Allegation, in Vanity Fair, February 2014.
After reading the article the nagging question in me
became; how many times and how many years do we have to read about high profile
cases like Woody Allen and Jerry Sandusky's child sexual abuse cases before it sparks a
raging inferno in us? These are high profile cases! What about all the
unreported child sexual abuse perpetrators who are never reported? Who will be
the voice of their victims?
I wonder, what
are the statistics about child sexual abuse? (According to Parents from
Megan’s Law, The Crime Victim Center)
•
Like
rape, child molestation is one of the most underreported crimes: only 1-10% are
ever disclosed. Source: FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin.
•
Fabricated
sexual abuse reports constitute only 1% to 4% of all reported cases. Of these
reports adults report 75%. Children fabricate sexual abuse less than 1% of the
time.
•
Abuse
typically occurs within a long-term, on-going relationship between the offender
and victim, escalates over time and lasts an average of four years.
Many
child sexual abuse victims never disclose their abuse to anyone. Less than 10%
of child sexual abuse is reported to the police.
IT IS
ESTIMATED THAT THERE ARE 60 MILLION SURVIVORS OF CHILDHOOD SEXUAL ABUSE IN
AMERICA TODAY.
The Vanity Fair author was the first to break the Woody Allen story in
1992. The tenor of her article is one of rage against the misinformation
broadcasted as the truth in recent news media.
These 10 undeniable facts listed in the article have been left on the table for the past 22 years and apparently no one has done
anything for the allegedly sexually abused child or her family.
It took Woody Allen’s recent accolades and awards for his alleged
victim to break her silence.
As a social worker, it is significant to me that the two social workers mentioned in the article were on a hospital panel reviewing the case. According to the
Vanity Fair article, “The panel consisted of two social workers and a
pediatrician, Dr. John Leventhal, who signed off on the report but who never
saw Dylan or Mia Farrow. No psychologists or psychiatrists were on the panel.
The social workers never testified; the hospital team only presented a sworn
deposition by Dr. Leventhal, who did not examine Dylan.”
Dylan’s
voice was not heard until now. The article mentions the numerous times Woody
Allen has slipped through the legal cracks for twenty two years. Am I a
co-conspirator in aiding Woody Allen’s perceived innocence when I pay money
to go see his movies? What about you?
How
many nameless children are sexually abused whose names we never know? One
such victim is my own mother. Her father sexually molested her for years. She
was in her fifties before she found her voice.
My MSW internship is at a family abuse shelter. I regularly
witness the continued cycle of violence and abuse that runs through generations of families.
My question is, what are each one of us willing to do to protect the children of
this world?
Matthew West’s current release, “Do Something,” helps answer
this question for me.
"Do Something"
I woke up this morning
Saw a world full of trouble
now
Thought, how’d we ever get so
far down
How’s it ever gonna turn
around
So I turned my eyes to Heaven
I thought, “God, why don’t
You do something?”
Well, I just couldn’t bear
the thought of
People living in poverty
Children sold into slavery
The thought disgusted me
So, I shook my fist at Heaven
Said, “God, why don’t You do
something?”
He said, “I did, I created
you”
If not us, then who
If not me and you
Right now, it’s time for us
to do something
If not now, then when
Will we see an end
To all this pain
It’s not enough to do nothing
It’s time for us to do
something
I’m so tired of talking
About how we are God’s hands
and feet
But it’s easier to say than
to be
Live like angels of apathy
who tell ourselves
It’s alright, “somebody else
will do something”
Well, I don’t know about you
But I’m sick and tired of
life with no desire
I don’t want a flame, I want
a fire
I wanna be the one who stands
up and says,
“I’m gonna do something”
If not us, then who
If not me and you
Right now, it’s time for us
to do something
If not now, then when
Will we see an end
To all this pain
It’s not enough to do nothing
It’s time for us to do
something
We are the salt of the earth
We are a city on a hill
(shine shine, shine shine)
But we’re never gonna change
the world
By standing still
No we won’t stand still
No we won’t stand still
No we won’t stand still
If not us, then who
If not me and you
Right now, it’s time for us
to do something
If not now, then when
Will we see an end
To all this pain
It’s not enough to do nothing
It’s time for us to do something
Click here to view the You Tube of Matthew West's song and lyrics
Carolyn, I have been thinking about this issue with Mr. Allen and have been troubled by Dylan's statements in the press and how the justice system seems to not be applying to Mr. Allen because of his status as a filmmaker. Shame on us as a society for turning our cheek to these atrocities
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