Pamela Pine, founder and CEO of Stop the Silence, a nonprofit in Washington, D.C., sees secrecy as the enemy. This advocate aims to curtail a silent epidemic of child sexual abuse, not just in the U.S., but around the world. It’s tragic that children often prove to be holders of the darkest secrets, sometimes only revealing the abuse decades later.
A solution is to stop the silence of victims who keep dark secrets – often for years – due to feelings of shame and fear instilled in them by the abuser. However, creating a safe environment for disclosing abuse is fraught with challenges. Those who abuse young victims often wield fear and shame as a weapon to ensure the dark secret remains hidden. This also makes it more difficult to prosecute perpetrators. Proposed legislation in Washington State would extend the statute of limitations on child rape, and other states are considering similar measures.
Stop the Silence approaches the problem of child sexual abuse in several ways. First, they spread this simple message: Tell someone, and if no one helps, tell someone else. Then, they draw attention to the issue with an annual race held in Washington, D.C. The organization also trains teachers to recognize the subtle signs that a child is suffering sexual abuse.
Those who commit child sexual abuse are very adept at hiding their activities. Unfortunately, this means child sexual abuse may afflict the next generation, as more women and men live out dysfunctional patterns that often go back many decades.
If a child eventually discloses the abuse to an adult, and that person doesn’t respond appropriately, then the child may not speak of it again for years. That’s why the mission of ending the silence is so important. The power of the abuser is derived solely from the secrecy. Break the secret, and the child is set free, albeit there will be a long recovery.
The Race for the Cure, held each year by the Susan G. Komen Foundation, has done much to raise awareness for breast cancer prevention and treatment. May we also hope for a similar result in the work of Stop the Silence.
It’s time to stop the silence surrounding child sexual abuse once and for all.