By JEFF HAO
Forty years sounds like a lifetime for most people. One hundred and seventy-five years is almost inconceivable. Imagine what was going through Larry Nassar’s mind when the judge sentenced him to 40 to 175 years in prison. Do you think he was thinking of all the little girls and boys he molested? The trauma and suffering that he caused? Of all the lives he altered?
We won’t ever know the answers, but we do have the facts. Nassar molested over 265 children over his career as a doctor, with the first male survivor making his statement in early March. These accounts of sexual abuse didn’t start coming out until years after they occurred, evidence that something deep in our culture needs changing. This problem needs to be addressed in our community, especially with April being National Child Abuse Awareness Month.
One common sentiment about serial abusers we often have is to wonder how they got away with it for so long. Part of the answer is the rape culture we live in, which casts disbelief on the survivors and perpetuates the problem. Another part is the way we raise and socialize our children, dancing around the uncomfortable topics of sex and the intricacies around it. If our children don’t understand what kind of touching is OK and what crosses the line, if they don’t even know how to articulate what is happening to them, how are they supposed to tell us about it? How do we keep them safe if they don’t understand what is safe and what isn’t? This is why we need to be educating children and giving them the proper language to talk about sexual abuse.
“Intersectionality” is a word coined by Kimberle Crenshaw, who spoke at the annual MLK Jr. Memorial Convocation last month. It refers to how dynamics of race, gender and class interact and overlap in systems of inequality and power. Living in a diverse county like Santa Cruz, intersectionality is an important concept for any issue. Historically and statistically, people of color who are economically disadvantaged are more susceptible to be subjected to sexual violence, a key point to remember in educating about sexual abuse. We must ensure cultural competency where children of all backgrounds can be helped to fully address the issues.
Survivors Healing Center has a broad range of group therapy services available for teens, women, men, partners and mothers of survivors. Through our Caring 4 Kids: End Child Sexual Abuse Program, we offer educational and awareness building community presentations. We offer free safety skills coloring books and prevention materials for parents and caregivers. It is not enough to treat the symptoms of childhood sexual abuse, we want to stop it in its tracks. We want to change the culture around the problem, empowering children by giving them the tools and language to recognize and discuss this issue and empowering parents to protect, intervene, and prevent child sexual abuse. Only then will the Larry Nassars of the world be eradicated.
On Sunday, Survivors Healing Center will host the Second Annual Caring 4 Kids Rhythm Event, in conjunction with the City of Watsonville’s Earth Day/Day of the Child. The event is family-friendly, and is supported by more than 50 local businesses and faith groups. Come have some fun! Celebrate our community’s children and families and make music together with our facilitator, Don Davidson.
• 1-3 p.m. Ice Cream
• 2:45-3:30 p.m. Rhythm Event.
Visit www.caringforkidsevent.com for more information.
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Jeff Hao is an intern at Survivors Healing Center and is currently a third-year student at UC Santa Cruz studying Sociology and Education. His opinions are his own and not necessarily those of the Pajaronian.
