MT - Rewind To Fast-Forward

Original Article

As long as it's honest and deals with facts and not fear mongering, exploitation and grand standing, then we are all for it.

By Sasha Joseph Neulinger

Director Sasha Joseph Neulinger spent his childhood in front of a camera. His father Henry, also a documentary filmmaker, shot over two hundred hours of home video capturing every aspect of Sasha’s young life. But within the footage of birthday parties, family trips, and hockey games, something dark was hidden. Sasha revisits his father’s videos and the painful secret of his early years—a secret that would shift the course of his life.

Between the ages of three and seven, Sasha was sexually abused by two of his uncles and one male cousin. After Sasha came forward and spoke up about the abuse, his father Henry shared a secret of his own. Henry’s brothers, the same men who had abused Sasha, had also abused Henry as a boy. Sasha spent a decade entangled in the criminal justice system—and struggling to find his identity in the aftermath of his stolen childhood. This autobiographical film will unearth a historical case of multigenerational sexual abuse and by doing so, it will also give intimate and inspiring insight into one survivor’s healing process.

From the Director

In my first feature length documentary, I will share my experience of overcoming child sexual abuse, a journey from victim to survivor. My goal is to shed light on what it is to be a child abuse victim—from the first moment of abuse, through the process of reclaiming and rebalancing life. I want to expose the causes underlying the destructive multigenerational cycle of child abuse in my own family. And I hope that as I share my story as a case study, we can have a more open conversation about the importance of an uninterrupted healing process for child victims and reduce the numbers of children who are abused.

Why Rape Is Sincerely Hilarious

The Bomb in the Brain - The True Roots of Human Violence

Playlist Link

GA - Program brings topic of sex abuse to classrooms

Education is the key!

Original Article

This is what should be done in all schools across the country, not just this county. Education is the key to helping put a major dent in sexual abuse, not fear, exploitation and hysteria.

03/05/2014

By Troy Washington

THOMASVILLE (WALB) - Experts say 90% of children who are victims of sexual abuse know their abuser and 60% are abused by a relative or trusted family friend.

School leaders in Thomasville city schools are working to protect kids from the horror of abuse.

The Thomasville school system is working to prevent child abuse. They've got everyone from teachers to custodians on board.

"It hit home more because nothing is more precious to you, than having your own child, you think about that child and you think about that child's safety 24 hours a day," said parent and educator Ashley Martin.

The chances of a child dying in a car wreck are 1 in 84, but experts say the chances of a child being sexually abused are 1 in 4 for girls and 1 in 6 for boys.

MacIntyre Park Middle School teacher and new mother Ashley Martin says the mandatory sexual abuse awareness courses changed her entire outlook on the world.

"It opens your eyes to the different things that are out there, things that you should be thinking about, that you kind of don't think about especially with girls, but not just girls, boys too," said Martin.

That's exactly why Tiffany Oldham and Stephanie Hardy got certified and felt compelled to bring the information from the Stewards of Children, Darkness to Light training session to the entire system.

"A lot of times that kindergarten teacher, or that middle school teacher is not only a teacher but a confidant, we are often the first line of defense," said Oldham.

They say parents must get involved with the initiative. "In the past it has been a hush-hush conversation, not talked about or they've more believed in the stranger danger," said Hardy.

Bringing the topic to light is transforming classrooms into safe havens and faculty members into beacons of light, protecting the innocence of all students who walk through school doors.

AFRICA - Rapists, too, were children

Original Article

Overall this is a good article, but what's with the male demonization when females are also abusive and cause harm?

02/20/2014

The childhood histories of violent men constantly highlight that violence is a learnt behaviour, says Amelia Kleijn.

“My mother had many frustrations. She was short-tempered. If she hit you, she hit you. My father was very angry sometimes – and then he could kill you if he’s getting cross.”

These are some of the childhood recollections of convicted rapists. I interviewed convicted child rapists in prisons to try and understand what compelled them to behave so violently towards particularly young children. The men’s childhoods were similar, with repeated recollections of terrible maltreatment from the hands of their parents and others. Their role models were abusive, violent - often drunk - bullies.

Account after account reflected what had gone so terribly wrong in these men’s lives, with terrible outcomes for a particularly vulnerable group in our society – children under the age of 3.

The topic of rape is highly emotive and I understand that the rape of particularly young children evokes extremely powerful emotions for many.

The reality is that rapists, too, were children. If we try to understand what can go so wrong in some children’s lives to produce an adult who rapes, we can move beyond anger and outrage, and potentially prevent vulnerable children from becoming adults with violent behaviours.

Rape is a complex crime with multiple causes. However, there are common features in many rapists’ childhood histories. These include frequent beatings from parents, older relatives, teachers and members of the community; exposure to violence at home, at school and in communities; dysfunctional parental relationships; and the absence of caring adults, positive role models or mentors.

Another feature of rapists’, and other violent offenders’, childhoods is the witness of their mothers’ abuse at the hands of fathers or partners. These children, without some sort of intervention, will have a much greater chance of growing into adults with violent behaviours, than those who don’t witness or experience violence during their childhoods. This was evident in my conversations with the men who participated in my study. They told me how they “corrected their girlfriends, by beating them, disciplining them”, and that “to beat somebody, you show her love”. And so the well-documented “cycle of violence” continues, in every sphere of life, inevitably and cruelly thrust upon the next generation.

The childhood histories of violent men constantly highlight that violence is a learnt behaviour. I believe it is time for us to seriously rethink some of our parenting attitudes and daily behaviours.

Children learn about violence because they are surrounded by negative role models, the most damaging of which are abusive, domineering and possessive men, or men who fail to recognise the rights of others, and assert their “power” with physical and other forms of abuse.

Nelson Mandela wrote that: “There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children.”

While hitting a child often stops socially inappropriate behaviours in the short term, it is the long-term effects that are far more serious. These include the use of violence as a way to resolve conflict, that “might is right”, and the use of violence in later life.

The comments above from convicted rapists reflect this, as does a plethora of other South African, and global, research on gender-based violence.

This doesn’t mean that children can live their lives without boundaries and consequences, when behaviour is inappropriate. Positive parenting and the reinforcement of acceptable behaviours are far healthier ways to guide children, and role-modelling better behaviours that will help children to grow up as well-functioning adults.

However, the reality is that despite the fact that thousands of boys in South Africa are frequently beaten, not all of them will grow up to rape and beat women and children. Research from many organisations, including the University of Johannesburg’s Centre for Social Development in Africa (CSDA), demonstrates that when role models care about children, show love and concern, and model better behaviours, the trajectory of many children’s lives can be changed for the good.

These role models can be teachers, community members and leaders, older male relatives and friends, and other mentors. Men who give their partners and children love, safety, respect and dignity can be men who children look up to, respect, and whose behaviour they copy.

So what kind of role models are we? Are we making active choices to be positive role models? Do we have a realistic and positive effect on the children around us?

Can you help to mitigate the scourge of sexual violence in our country?