PCAR Offers Insight on
Sandusky Trial Courtroom Proceedings
Harrisburg, PA – PCAR, the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape, and NSVRC, the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, are on-site in Bellefonte for the Jerry Sandusky child sexual abuse trial. PCAR will provide insight and expertise throughout the trial in response to key statements made during courtroom proceedings.
DAY 2
Central Mountain High School guidance counselor, according to Victim 1: Sandusky "had a heart of gold and wouldn't do something like that (in reference to allegations made by Victim 1)."
PCAR: People who commit sexual offenses are often nice, responsible, upstanding, loving and law abiding members of their communities and even families...except for when they are committing the abuse. The words often used to describe people who commit sexual offenses ("monster," "pre dator" or "animal") obscure this reality, and can make it difficult for people to see the incredible harm they are causing.
Sex offenders use their good reputations to gain the trust of potential victims and others around them, and gain access to them. No one would agree to leave their child in the care of a "monster" but most people are comfortable leaving their child in the care of a family friend or a mentor who is widely trusted in the community.
When a child insinuates, hints or discloses they are being abused, the adult they are telling should remain calm and believe them in that moment. The adult should seek assistance from professionals who are trained to investigate suspicions of abuse, and not make a determination based on personal beliefs or experiences with the offender.
Adults also should not attempt to 'investigate' or get more information on their own, as doing so may jeopardize the integrity of a bona fide investigation and ultimately leave a child at risk.
Victim 1: "I spaced. I didn’t know what to do. I just blacked out. I didn’t want it to happen. I froze…. I froze like every other time. My mind was telling me to move. I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t move."
PCAR: It is normal for victims of sexual assault to “dissociate” during the abuse being done to them. Dissociation is a mental process which causes a lack of connection in a person's thoughts, memories, feelings, actions, or sense of identity.
Many survivors explain it by saying they disconnect their mind from their body. They may describe “floating up out of their body” or “looking over their own shoulder” during the abuse. An event or memory can bring up emotions which trigger dissociation. When a person is dissociating, certain sensory information is not associated with other information as it normally would be.
For instance, a person may recall a smell, sound, sight, taste or feeling, but not be able to place it in context or be able to associate words to tell the story of the experience. Dissociation can be a survival strategy used to help a person tolerate what might otherwise be too difficult to bear.
In situations of sexual violence, dissociation may be a means of detaching from the memory of the place, feelings, or other circumstances about the assault. Dissociation allows the victim to mentally escape from feelings of fear and pain. It is normal for people who dissociate to have difficulty remembering the details of the assault or keeping the details in an organized, linear time line.
Victim 1: “I acted out—wetting the bed. I got into fights with people. Stuff I wouldn’t normally ever do.”
Victim 1: “I started avoiding him. I would hide at his house under the pool table or in a closet.”
PCAR: Parents, teachers, coaches and counselors wonder how they can know if a child is being sexually abused. Unfortunately, there is not always a clear signal that indicates a child is being sexual abused.
There are, however, signs that indicate a child might be experiencing some kind of abuse. Any one sign does not mean a child is being abused, but if you notice a child is experiencing several of the symptoms you should be asking questions. Visit www.heroproject.org, http://www.heroproject.org, www.nsvrc.org, http://www.nsvrc.org or http://www.stopitnow.org for resources on indicators of possible sexual abuse.
Some signs or symptoms are physical, such as pain, itching, bruising or bleeding of the genital area. Other symptoms are behavioral, such as an unexplained or sudden fear, dislike or avoidance of certain people, regression to infantile behaviors such as bed-wetting or thumb-sucking, nightmares and sleep disturbances, developing discipline or school problems, and engaging in self-injury such as burning or cutting,
Victim 1: “I might have white-lied to cover embarrassment. But I’m here telling the full truth.”
PCAR: Sexual abuse can cause intense feelings of shame, embarrassment, fear and humiliation. Victims often feel trapped between wanting the abuse to stop and being terrified of other people learning what has been done to them. That fear can keep victims silent while the abuse is going on, and for years after it has stopped.
Many victims try to hide what is happening to them by outright denying it when others ask (including classmates who may make jokes, tease or bully them based on the irregular relationship they see or sense), and by making statements with false bravado.
Sometimes victims fear getting in trouble for their own "bad" or illegal behavior (underage drinking, using drugs, lying to parents about where they are or who they are with for example) and will make false statements to friends, family and even investigators about those acts.
These false statements do not mean that the entire account of abuse is false. In fact, offenders may intentionally encourage victims to engage in bad or illegal behavior knowing it is one more layer of protection for themselves should the victim report their sexual assaults.
The Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape is the oldest state anti-sexual violence coalition in the U.S. The organization represents 51 sexual assault centers that serve the state’s 67 counties. Each year these centers provide confidential services, at no charge, to more than 30,000 men, women and children affected by sexual abuse.
The news leader of the Twin Tiers ...
since 1947
DAY 2
Central Mountain High School guidance counselor, according to Victim 1: Sandusky "had a heart of gold and wouldn't do something like that (in reference to allegations made by Victim 1)."
PCAR: People who commit sexual offenses are often nice, responsible, upstanding, loving and law abiding members of their communities and even families...except for when they are committing the abuse. The words often used to describe people who commit sexual offenses ("monster," "pre dator" or "animal") obscure this reality, and can make it difficult for people to see the incredible harm they are causing.
Sex offenders use their good reputations to gain the trust of potential victims and others around them, and gain access to them. No one would agree to leave their child in the care of a "monster" but most people are comfortable leaving their child in the care of a family friend or a mentor who is widely trusted in the community.
When a child insinuates, hints or discloses they are being abused, the adult they are telling should remain calm and believe them in that moment. The adult should seek assistance from professionals who are trained to investigate suspicions of abuse, and not make a determination based on personal beliefs or experiences with the offender.
Adults also should not attempt to 'investigate' or get more information on their own, as doing so may jeopardize the integrity of a bona fide investigation and ultimately leave a child at risk.
Victim 1: "I spaced. I didn’t know what to do. I just blacked out. I didn’t want it to happen. I froze…. I froze like every other time. My mind was telling me to move. I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t move."
PCAR: It is normal for victims of sexual assault to “dissociate” during the abuse being done to them. Dissociation is a mental process which causes a lack of connection in a person's thoughts, memories, feelings, actions, or sense of identity.
Many survivors explain it by saying they disconnect their mind from their body. They may describe “floating up out of their body” or “looking over their own shoulder” during the abuse. An event or memory can bring up emotions which trigger dissociation. When a person is dissociating, certain sensory information is not associated with other information as it normally would be.
For instance, a person may recall a smell, sound, sight, taste or feeling, but not be able to place it in context or be able to associate words to tell the story of the experience. Dissociation can be a survival strategy used to help a person tolerate what might otherwise be too difficult to bear.
In situations of sexual violence, dissociation may be a means of detaching from the memory of the place, feelings, or other circumstances about the assault. Dissociation allows the victim to mentally escape from feelings of fear and pain. It is normal for people who dissociate to have difficulty remembering the details of the assault or keeping the details in an organized, linear time line.
Victim 1: “I acted out—wetting the bed. I got into fights with people. Stuff I wouldn’t normally ever do.”
Victim 1: “I started avoiding him. I would hide at his house under the pool table or in a closet.”
PCAR: Parents, teachers, coaches and counselors wonder how they can know if a child is being sexually abused. Unfortunately, there is not always a clear signal that indicates a child is being sexual abused.
There are, however, signs that indicate a child might be experiencing some kind of abuse. Any one sign does not mean a child is being abused, but if you notice a child is experiencing several of the symptoms you should be asking questions. Visit www.heroproject.org, http://www.heroproject.org, www.nsvrc.org, http://www.nsvrc.org or http://www.stopitnow.org for resources on indicators of possible sexual abuse.
Some signs or symptoms are physical, such as pain, itching, bruising or bleeding of the genital area. Other symptoms are behavioral, such as an unexplained or sudden fear, dislike or avoidance of certain people, regression to infantile behaviors such as bed-wetting or thumb-sucking, nightmares and sleep disturbances, developing discipline or school problems, and engaging in self-injury such as burning or cutting,
Victim 1: “I might have white-lied to cover embarrassment. But I’m here telling the full truth.”
PCAR: Sexual abuse can cause intense feelings of shame, embarrassment, fear and humiliation. Victims often feel trapped between wanting the abuse to stop and being terrified of other people learning what has been done to them. That fear can keep victims silent while the abuse is going on, and for years after it has stopped.
Many victims try to hide what is happening to them by outright denying it when others ask (including classmates who may make jokes, tease or bully them based on the irregular relationship they see or sense), and by making statements with false bravado.
Sometimes victims fear getting in trouble for their own "bad" or illegal behavior (underage drinking, using drugs, lying to parents about where they are or who they are with for example) and will make false statements to friends, family and even investigators about those acts.
These false statements do not mean that the entire account of abuse is false. In fact, offenders may intentionally encourage victims to engage in bad or illegal behavior knowing it is one more layer of protection for themselves should the victim report their sexual assaults.
The Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape is the oldest state anti-sexual violence coalition in the U.S. The organization represents 51 sexual assault centers that serve the state’s 67 counties. Each year these centers provide confidential services, at no charge, to more than 30,000 men, women and children affected by sexual abuse.
The news leader of the Twin Tiers ...since 1947
.jpg)
Comments