Virtus: Child abuse

Sister Harriet was able to come to our class last week to explain what child abuse and sexual abuse was and what are the warning signs. I thought that it was very insightful and I learned a lot of important information that will help me now and in the future. We watched two short videos on child sexual abuse and it included viewpoints from victims and the perpetrators. It was very disturbing to listen to how the registered sex offenders lured children in and chose their victims. It also seemed as though they had no remorse and one even said that he would do it again if he could. It deeply saddened me to listen to the victims talk about what they had to go through. Many of them said that they felt trapped and felt like not even their parents would believed them. The sex offenders said that they would manipulate the children into believing that they were at fault or that they chose to do it. The video also described ways of spotting a pedophile or abuser. Some signs include noticing if an adult always want to hang out or be around a child or shows an interest in childlike activities. Also, if they seem very touchy with a child or gives them gifts. All of these signs should raise a red flag and you should contact child services immediately to remain anonymous.

Recently, Penn State University has been going through the biggest scandals in PSU history. Jerry Sandusky, a former assistant coach, was accused of 42 counts of molestation with young boys. All dating from 1994 until about 2009. Sandusky founded The Second Mile in 1977 and was a charity developed to help troubled young boys. Recently, multiple victims had come forward saying that he had molested them in the locker room showered. However, the legendary coach, Joe Paterno, allegedly knew what was going on and told administration. Unfortunately, nothing ever went through and the event never was looked into. After the victims came forward, Penn State is under a lot of heat from the media for not doing anything about this event. Joe Pateno was fired for not following up and bringing this situation further and Sanduskey was fired as well. It is still an ongoing case.

Overall, I think that learning about child abuse and sexual abuse signs are very important for us to learn because we might be able to prevent it from happening or putting a stop to it. I think the Penn State scandal is the perfect example of how not to handle the situation. They had a chance to stop what was going on and they turned their shoulder. I think that this should teach everyone a valid lesson about child sexual abuse and to take the signs seriously.