If you want to know the details, here are a couple of articles that give a fair synopsis of what is going on:
Accusers say they were lured by attention, gifts
Alleged Sandusky victim details abuse
It is difficult for me to want to share anything from the trial because reading through the testimony from the alleged victims has been a grueling process. No one wants to hear the details of sexual abuse, but nonetheless, here are the basics:
- 10 alleged victims have come forward -- abused as boys (10-13), they are now men (18-25), some married with children
- Jerry Sandusky knew the alleged victims through a non-profit he founded
- Penn State has records of reports that Sandusky was involved with these boys, but covered it up and did not take action
- Jerry Sandusky continues to say he isn’t guilty
That said, let's move on from the graphic details of what these alleged victims are sharing and talk about what we can learn from horrific moments like this trial. Here are my questions for you:
1) How do you protect your kids, family, nieces, and nephews from incidents like this?
2) Is this a problem in our society that keeps you up at night or do you choose to ignore it (because of its horrific nature)?
3) What about Jerry Sandusky’s wife? What do you think her roll has been?
4) How could you step in and make a difference as a wife or mother or roll model in this situation? To prevent it, to solve the problem, or to interfere if you were aware something like this was going on?
1) It seems usually people fall into one of 2 categories: ignorance, and knowledge. By ignoring the fact that awful things like this happen everywhere to all kinds of people without boundaries of race, religion, wealth, status, gender, ect. is to give the power to the abusers and allowing yourself to live in a kind of lie. Choosing to educate ourselves and our children will create an amount of defense. I believe in being proactive. If our children don't learn from us they will learn somewhere else in some way that may be contrary to what we want for them. While excepting that even knowledge is not a definitive way to ensure protection (nothing is), as a mother it is my responsibility to do everything within my abilities to help them. Even talking about uncomfortable topics. I have to hope that if this knowledge does not protect them that it may help them to escape it and eventually overcome it.
ReplyDelete2&4) We all must choose to actively live our lives. Being fearful to the extreme by letting it rule your daily decisions is unhealthy for you and decreases the control and power that you have over your own life and the lives of those you love. For more information go to http://www.childwelfare.gov there is information about the signs of abuse, where to go for help, and what you can do about it. Be aware of the signs, I believe it is just as important as getting your CPR certification. You never know who may need your help- a kid a play group, a friend, family.
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