12 Confronting Child Sexual Abuse Statistics All Parents Need to Know

Stuff you need to know to protect your children!

Moms, please read

We must educate our children so they know to tell, and keep on telling until they are believed

Jayneen Sanders, Huffington Post

As a parent and an educator I find the statistics below both confronting and horrifying. However, they do highlight the reasons WHY we need to teach the children in our care Body Safety from the earliest of years.

Such age-appropriate knowledge is empowering for children, and might well be the difference between a child becoming one of these statistics or not.

As an advocate for Body Safety Education in both homes and schools, I have heard many sad and crippling stories from adult survivors; but it’s this one shared comment that stays with me, “If only I had known from the first inappropriate touch it was wrong, my life could have been so different.”

I am not a survivor of childhood sexual abuse but I am a mother and teacher who believes we can do better by our kids. We need to put our adult fear of this topic aside, and take on the responsibility of educating our children so they know to tell, and keep on telling until they are believed. We also have a responsibility to educate ourselves so we know the signs of sexual abuse and grooming. Believing a child when they disclose sexual abuse is of the utmost importance, as is our reaction to the disclosure.

These statistics are a call to action for parents, carers and teachers everywhere — let’s educate ourselves and our kids in Body Safety, and like any good “ripple effect,” let’s educate others to do the same! I am asking you to play your part. Ironically, you may never know but your advocacy could positively change a child’s life forever.

I'm sure your prayers could positively change many lives for the better, but action is also desperately needed.

1. Approximately 20 percent of girls (1 in 5) and 8 percent of boys (1 in 12.5) will be sexually abused before their 18th birthday (Pereda et al, 2009).

2. 95 percent of sexually abused children will be abused by someone they know and trust (NAPCAN 2009).

3. Of those molesting a child under six, 50 percent were family members. Family members also accounted for 23 percent of those abusing children 12 to 17 years (Snyder, 2000).

4. The most vulnerable age for children to be exposed to sexual assault is between 3 and 8 years with the majority of onset happening between these ages (Browne & Lynch, 1994).

Other sources agree with those ages for boys but for girls the most vulnerable age is between 12 and 14.

5. Males made up 90 percent of adult child sexual assault perpetrators, while 3.9 percent of perpetrators were female, with a further 6 percent classified as ’unknown gender’ (McCloskey & Raphael, 2005).

6. As many of 40 percent of children who are sexually abused are abused by older, or more powerful children. (Finkelhor, 2012) Note: with the easy access to pornography we are seeing more and more cases of child on child sexual abuse, and older children/siblings sexually abusing younger children. Twenty-three percent of all 10 to 17 year olds experience exposure to unwanted pornography (Jones L., et al 2012).

7. Eighty-four percent of sexual victimization of children under 12 occurs in a residence (Snyder, 2000).

8. In 98 percent of child abuse cases reported to officials, children’s statements were found to be true (NSW Child Protection Council, cited in Dympna House 1998).

9. 1 in 3 adults would not believe a child if they disclosed sexual abuse (Australian Childhood Foundation, 2010).

This disconnect between parents who refuse to believe children who disclose is absolutely disastrous for the children. It leaves them with no-one to turn to, no-one to rescue them, and no hope. Want to know why young children commit suicide? You need look no further.

10. Seventy-three percent of child victims do not tell anyone about the abuse for at least 1 year. Forty-five percent do not tell anyone for 5 years. Some never disclose (Broman-Fulks et al, 2007).

It seems the earlier the abuse and the more violent the abuse, the longer the delay in reporting.

11. Survivors of childhood sexual abuse are 10 to 13 times more likely to attempt suicide. (Plunkett A, O’Toole B, Swanston H, Oates RK, Shrimpton S, Parkinson P 2001).

12. Children living without either parent (foster children) are 10 times more likely to be sexually abused than children who live with both biological parents. Children who live with a single parent that has a live-in partner are at the highest risk: they are 20 times more likely to be victims of sexual abuse than children living with both biological parents (Sedlack et al, 2010).

I have been warning moms about being careful who they bring into the home for years. Step-dads and boyfriends are all too frequent flyers on my blog.

In my experience, children do not lie about sexual abuse and the research would indicate this. Please educate your child in Body Safety. I truly hope they may never need this knowledge but think of it as a safety belt — just in case.

We also know that children who are being sexually abused may first disclose to a friend. If that friend has been educated in Body Safety they will know to tell a trusted adult on their Safety Network. Educating children in Body Safety is in the best interests of all children.

If these statistics have raised any issues please, go to this links page. For more statistics and general information on child sexual abuse please visit Darkness to Light. To help get sexual abuse prevention education in all schools in the US please support Erin’s Law.

Note: Darkness to Light uses the ratio 1 in 10 for all children subjected to sexual abuse. But they do not include child-on-child data in their calculations, "otherwise, they would go way up" as they told me.

Free My Body Safety Rules poster to download for the children in your life.

Jayneen is a mother, children’s book author, teacher, publisher, passionate advocate for Body Safety and Respectful Relationships Education

References

Australian Childhood Foundation (2010). Doing Nothing Hurts Children. Ringwood [Vic]: Australian Childhood Foundation.

Broman-Fulks, J. J., Ruggiero, K. J., Hanson, R. F., Smith, D. W., Resnick, H. S., Kilpatrick, D. G., & Saunders, B. E. (2007). Sexual assault disclosure in relation to adolescent mental health: Results from the National Survey of Adolescents. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 36: 260 – 266

Browne, K. & Lynch, M. (1994). Prevention: Actions speak louder than words. Child Abuse Review, 3: 241-244.

Fergusson, D. M., & Mullen, P. E. (1999). Childhood sexual abuse: An evidence based perspective. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, Inc.

Finkelhor D. (2012) Characteristics of crimes against juveniles, Durham, NH: Crimes Against Children research Centre

Jones L., Mitchell K., Finkelhor D. (2012) Trends in youth victimization: findings from three youth internet safety surveys 2000-2010, Journal of Adolescent Health 50: 179-186

McCloskey KA, Raphael DN. Adult perpetrator gender asymmetries in child sexual assault victim selection: results from the 2000 National Incident-Based Report System. J Child Sex Abus. 2005;14(4):1-24.

New South Wales Child Protection Council, (1998). Managing Sex Offenders

Pereda, Guilera, Forns and Gomez-Benito (2009) The prevalence of child sexual abuse in community and student samples: a meta-analysis

Plunkett A, O’Toole B, Swanston H, Oates RK, Shrimpton S, Parkinson P. Suicide risk following child sexual abuse (2001)

Sedlak, A.J., Mettenburg, J., Basena, M., Petta, I., McPherson, K., Greene, A., and Li, S. (2010). Fourth National Incidence Study of Child Abuse and Neglect (NIS–4): Report to Congress, Executive Summary. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families.

Snyder, H. N. (2000). Sexual assault of young children as reported to law enforcement: Victim, incident, and offender characteristics. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Program, Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Note: Every attempt has been made to locate all references and their links. Due to the nature of this research statistics will vary according to the individual and/or team’s research data.

3 Good News Stories About Child Sex Abuse to Start the Year

Update to third story - Advocate: Teach Montana children to
speak out about sexual abuse. Rep. Ed Greef, R-Florence, has agreed to carry a bill to adopt the state's own version of Erin's Law
Child sex abuse recognition training offered

in Niagara County

By Thomas Prohaska

NIAGARA FALLS - Classes in recognizing and preventing sexual abuse of children will be offered in Niagara Falls and Lockport in January by the Child Advocacy Center of Niagara.

The free "Stewards of Children" programs will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. Jan. 13 in the Lockport Public Library, 23 East Ave., and from 2 to 4 p.m. Jan. 23 in the Golisano Center for Community Health, Niagara Falls.

The sessions are open to anyone interested in protecting children from sexual abuse, including organizations serving youth, churches, child care providers, educators and parents. The instructor will be Jacqueline Pritchard, Child Advocacy Center education and outreach coordinator.

Advance registration is required by calling the Child Advocacy Center at 285-0045 or online at the "Classes & Events" page at nfmmc.org.

Please, if you are in the Niagara area and are involved with children, try and get out to attend one of these seminars. You might just change someone's life.

Project honors survivor of child sexual abuse

By WANE Staff Reports

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) – A project called ‘You Go Girl!’ awards 12 women per year with a free makeover and photo shoot provided by area community businesses. For the month of December, the project awarded Michelle Clayton, a survivor of child sexual abuse.

video 2:44

Clayton was molested as a child and has a history of drug addiction and abusive relationships. She was nominated for the award by a co-worker and her best friend after turning her life around. Clayton said she wants to give someone else the same hope that it’s possible to turn your life around.

“I’ve always said whatever we go through in life, to make it count,” Clayton said. “I’ve always shared my story freely in hope that I can reach somebody.”

Clayton said that the experience of being awarded “humbling.”

So proud of you for overcoming and for speaking out, Michelle. God bless you.

To nominate a woman for 2017, and to view past winners visit the project’s website.

Advocate: Teach Montana children to

speak out about sexual abuse

PERRY BACKUS Ravalli Republic

Tara Walker Lyons of Hamilton will go to Helena on Tuesday in hopes of finding a legislator willing to carry a bill enabling the state to adopt Erin's Law. The legislation would require schools to adopt a program to teach age appropriate information about the prevention of child sexual abuse.

Tara Walker Lyons had no idea what to expect when she took the stage at Poplar High School a few weeks back.

She had traveled across the state to talk to students about a subject that no one wants to consider.

“I thought maybe I would look out and see all these little lights as they checked out their cell phones,” the Hamilton mother said.

Instead, as she told her story of being sexually abused at the age of 6 and the challenges she has faced since then, Lyons said that all eyes in the room were fixed on her.

She knew that they felt and understood her pain.

Poplar High School Principal Dwain Haggard wrote Lyons a letter of recommendation after that day.

“I don’t believe I have ever seen my students so transfixed as Ms. Lyons told of her experiences and struggles as a child abuse survivor,” Haggard wrote.

When her talk came to an end, Haggard said several students asked to speak to counselors. One even stepped forward before the presentation was done.

“Ms. Lyons’ story was full of pain and passion and touched us all to our very core,” Haggard wrote. “Her journey is a lonely journey that so many kids are experiencing and it’s a journey that Ms. Lyons has had the courage to share for the good of others.”

Haggard encouraged other school leaders to provide her a chance to speak in their communities.

“Many of our children are at risk in the very place they should feel the safest, their homes,” Haggard wrote. “Worst of all, they have no idea how to deal with the abuse. Ms. Lyons’ message provides the guidance and insight to help our kids deal with this worst of crimes.”

Lyons believes there is only way to stop this crime against children: “We have to find a way to bring it into the light. We have to provide children with a chance to make it stop.”

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On Tuesday, Lyons will go to Helena in hopes of finding a champion for that cause.

She will spend the day meeting with state legislators with the hope of convincing at least one to carry a bill that Lyons is certain will change the lives of children destined to cross paths with sexual predators.

In her hand, she’ll carry a copy of Erin’s Law.

Named for a childhood sexual assault survivor – author, speaker and activist Erin Merryn – the law requires all public schools to implement a prevention-orientated child sexual abuse program that teaches kids that they’re not the ones who are doing something wrong.

The grades K-12 curriculum teaches age-appropriate techniques that help children recognize sexual abuse and encourages them to reach out to a trusted adult to make it stop.

Montana is one of six states in the country that doesn’t have something like Erin’s Law in place to protect its children from sexual abuse.

There are 26 states that have already implemented the law. Another 17 are working through the process.

Sarah Grande of Rocker believes that if the program had been implemented in Montana, her daughter may have been spared the abuse she suffered at the hands of a Hamilton man.

“That’s not something that you think is going to happen to your child,” Grande said. “My daughter told me later that the schools teach you seven ways of saying no to drugs. Why don’t they teach how to get help when this happens to you?

“She told me if I would have known, I would have talked to someone the first time it happened,” Grande said. “Children don’t know what to do. They have zero life experience in trying to deal with a situation like that.”

The girl’s abuser, Justin Gale Walker of Hamilton, was sentenced to prison in November 2015.

Grande’s daughter, Elianah, turned 11 this past November.

She – like Lyons – has decided that she won’t be silent about what happened to her. If she gets the chance, Grande said her daughter will stand right alongside Lyons when it comes time to testify in favor of Erin’s Law.

Grande said the choice of stepping forward was entirely her daughter’s.

“I would have stopped when he went to jail,” she said. “I thought at that point, it was pretty much done for us. We were all emotionally exhausted.”

But Elianah learned about Lyons’ efforts to bring this crime out of the shadows. “She saw her standing up for people who can’t stand up for themselves,” Grande said. “She wanted to be part of that.”

She has already spoken before a legislative committee. Her efforts have earned her an invitation to an ambassador leadership program that will be held in July at Harvard.

“She wants to become a judge,” Grande said. “There is something in her that I believe will change a lot of things in this world … Elianah means ‘Gift from God.’ ”

Grande saw the impact that Elianah’s testimony had on the legislative committee.

“When you’re an adult, that innocence of childhood is gone,” Grande said. “People have a hard time seeing you as a child. Elianah knows that she can make a difference if given the chance. She’s told me that if I ever tell anyone no, that she was going to be upset with me. She wants that choice to be hers.”

You're my hero Elianah. God bless you, girl.

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Lyons hopes that she and Elianah will be given the chance to tell to their stories to the Legislature while talking about the need for Erin’s Law.

Kierstin Schmitt of Emma’s House Children’s Advocacy Center knows the chances for children to fully recover from the trauma caused by sexual abuse can be hastened by early disclosures.

“We feel like there are a lot of children who come here who express the feeling that if someone had talked to them, they would have disclosed what happened to them sooner,” Schmitt said. “They would have been able to get help sooner.”

There is science that shows that childhood experiences of abuse or neglect can lead to very serious health and emotional impacts later in a person’s life.

“Childhood sexual abuse has been a taboo subject for a very long time,” Schmitt said. “It’s not spoken about in public very often. If we can just open up that dialogue and get these kids some help early on, there’s a better chance of recovery and breaking this cycle.”

Lyons has played a key role in taking the first step of breaking down those doors.

“She speaks clearly about her experience and the direct impacts that it’s had on her life,” Schmitt said. “She is passionate and poised and truly embodies the experience of a sexually abused child who has risen up to become a survivor.”

State Attorney General Tim Fox called Lyons his hero on a radio program recently.

“Sexual abuse is an atrocity that is far too common in this day and age,” Fox said, in a statement. “It’s an abhorrent crime under any circumstance, but is even worse when it involves children.

“Combating sexual abuse is a top priority for the Montana Department of Justice, and the work of individuals like Tara is an invaluable component to the larger effort of preventing kids from enduring such horrendous circumstances,” he said. “Tara should be commended for the work she does.”

Amen, and God bless her work!

10,000 in Central Oregon Trained to Prevent Child Sex Abuse

By: KTVZ.COM news sources

KIDS Center, a child abuse intervention center, reached a milestone this month as 10,000 adults in Deschutes, Crook and Jefferson counties have taken Darkness to Light: Stewards of Children®. This training is vital to ensuring our community is prepared to prevent, recognize, and react responsibly to child abuse.

When 5 percent of any population is trained, as Central Oregon is now, positive cultural shifts occur in addressing this serious issue.

KIDS Center, dedicated to preventing, evaluating, and treating all forms of child abuse, is a regional leader in training adults to better protect children from sexual abuse through their facilitation of Stewards of Children®. Since 2005, KIDS Center has facilitated Darkness to Light: Stewards of Children® trainings and grown their educational and prevention community resources. Kim Bohme, Prevention and Education Coordinator at KIDS Center, stated:

“We are very proud of the over 10,000 adults in Central Oregon who have learned how to protect children from child sexual abuse. However, our work is not done. Statistics suggest that 1 in 10 children in Central Oregon will be sexually abused before the age of 18, making this one of the most prevalent health problem children face. There is another 95% of adults in Deschutes, Crook, and Jefferson counties that can learn how to create a safer place for children.”

Remember, Darkness to Light does not include peer-on-peer sex abuse in their statistics, otherwise the 1 in 10 ratio would be much worse.

The Stewards of Children® program lays the foundation for a proactive, community-wide approach to the prevention of child sexual abuse and builds momentum toward educating and empowering all adults to protect children from abuse. In Deschutes County alone, 6,506 adults are trained to create environments that reduce the risk for abuse and allow children to live, learn, play, and worship in safety. Bohme adds:

“Our goal is to continue to train people in preventing child sexual abuse in Central Oregon until every adult has experienced this valuable and important training. Our immediate goal is to ensure that an additional 1,000 adults participate in Stewards of Children® in 2017! KIDS Center is committed to the total health and well-being of the children and families in our community and beyond­–we are ramping up our educational outreach in 2017 to reach as many adults as possible.”

Upcoming training dates:

January 10, 2016 Madras 4-7pm

February 9, 2016 Bend 6-9pm

With grant support from The Ford Family Foundation, Cow Creek Umpqua Indians Foundation and, Pacific Power Foundation, KIDS Center is able to offer Darkness to Light’s Stewards of Children® program to community members as a three-hour training. Registration can be found at kidscenter.org/trainings.

Those interested in participating in Darkness to Light Stewards of Children® trainings and other child abuse prevention programs and/or volunteer opportunities can contact Kim Bohme, KIDS Center Prevention and Education Coordinator, at kbohme@kidscenter.org or at 
541.306.6062.

Congratulations, Kim. Well done! God bless you and your team. This program will, no doubt, save children from the horrors of sex abuse. Oregon, unfortunately, shows up in this blog more often than many states and so this program is very much needed.

What is also needed is for the children to be educated about safe/non-safe touch, reporting, etc.; in other words, Erin's Law is badly needed in Oregon. Please contact your law-makers about getting it done.

Correction: Erin's Law was passed in Oregon in June 2015! Excellent! There should be a sharp improvement in the numbers, particularly in Central Oregon.

Alaska Guts Erin's Law - Children at Risk to Pedophiles

The following is a Facebook post by Erin Merryn, the originator and driving force behind Erin's Law. And as you read below, you will see that she is a force to be reckoned with. But right now, she needs some help. What can you do?

"Erin's Law will give children a fighting chance, a voice, and the tools to help protect themselves. It should be passed in all 50 states. Common sense.
It's as simple as that. "
Actress Julianna Margulies (The Good Wife)

While Erin's Law has been passed in 23 states with few or no alterations, the Alaskan legislation is in the process of emasculating the bill. Each and every change weakens the bill without question. It should be passed as is.

http://www.erinmerryn.net/erins-law.html

Erin Merryn:
I am so FED up with Alaska legislators and the games they are playing at the expense of children's lives. New York is going in a better direction with Erin's Law right now than Alaska. 

Alaska Chair of Education yesterday changed the entire version of Erin's Law making it optional for schools to teach, parents must opt in students to do it, and so many other terrible things that go against the original version....

That isn't Erin's Law and I will NOT include it in the list of states that have passed Erin's Law if they pass it that way. That is no different than Erin's Law in any of the states that haven't passed it.
Any state can do it optional without it passing as a law. 

The Governor requested a special session for Erin's Law and they are destroying the bill. I ask everyone, not just the people of Alaska, to:

Write Senator Dunleavy to pass the ORIGINAL version of Erin's Law NOW! 

Write Senator.Mike.Dunleavy@akleg.gov and 

write Gov.alllegislators@alaska.gov telling them to pass the original version of Erin's Law.

Everyone WRITE them and SHARE this!

Erin Merryn

Why would the Alaska leg. gut what is a perfectly good bill? Why make it optional? Without it, children at risk have few or no options. Little children very often have no idea what is right or wrong when it comes to intimate areas of their body. Many do not know that they can say 'no', or even that they should. They don't know who to tell about it or how to tell them. 

Why would you remove the opportunity for them to know that? Many sexually abused children are molested at the hands of their caregivers. To give those caregivers the option of opting out, is to condemn those children to continued sexual abuse.

Sexual abuse destroys lives. It destroys children and it destroys adults who were abused as children. Most of us never fully recover. Few of us lead lives that are anything close to normal.

Senator Dunleavy please get this bill passed as it is written. Don't gut it! Give the kids a chance. 

Maine Native Accuses Police Officer of Chronic Child Sex Abuse

The Biddeford, Maine native wants to educate the public about sexual abuse and empower victims

By Ben Meiklejohn
Staff Writer
Biddeford-Saco-OOB Courier

BIDDEFORD – A man who grew up in Biddeford has turned to social media to begin a dialogue with city leaders about how to prevent child sexual abuse and provide resources to victims.

Please look into Erin's Law. It has been adopted in about 21 states and is on the slate for about 2 dozen more. It's a great way to educate kids on how to identify CSA, threats, and how to speak to someone about it. Excellent program, inexpensive to apply.

Matt Lauzon, who now lives in Boston but grew up in Biddeford, said he was sexually abused by a former Biddeford police officer nearly two decades ago, but felt too afraid and ashamed of his experience to speak out about it to authorities. Lauzon is now the CEO and co-founder of Dunwello, a free online service that allows people to review individual professionals.

Biddeford is an old city of about 21,000 in southern Maine
It was visited by Europeans in 1616 and settled in 1631

Lauzon, who graduated from Biddeford High School in 2003, has filed a complaint with the Maine attorney general and requested an investigation into an officer who is now retired and living in Florida. Lauzon said he first approached the Biddeford Police Department about the alleged crime last fall.

In recent weeks, Lauzon started to publicly engage Police Chief Roger Beaupre and Mayor Alan Casavant on Facebook about how the community can prevent child abuse and support victims – while articulating details of an experience that left him struggling his whole adult life.

“I feel guilt and shame that I didn’t speak up sooner and that he’s never been convicted and now lives free and clear in Florida,” Lauzon posted, “and now that numerous people are telling me similar stories, I have nightmares about staying silent and letting this abuse happen to other young women and men, or letting silence lead to young women or men taking their own lives.”

Lauzon shared publicly on Facebook his experiences growing up in Biddeford and always feeling like the officer was watching him.

“I have nightmares about where he took me in the woods.” Lauzon wrote. “I have nightmares about his home on Dearborn Avenue. I have nightmares about him sitting in his SUV in the parking lot of the nursing home behind my home. Every time I see flashing blue lights, I think about him pulling up to intimidate me and tell me he was watching. A prominent police officer in my town was watching and as a mid-teenager, that was scary and extremely intimidating.”

Lauzon has asked Beaupre and Casavant for an assessment on what programs or resources have or haven’t worked in protecting young people from sexual predators. Lauzon has also offered to help victims build the confidence to speak out about their experiences.

“I’m appreciative that sexual abuse and child molestation is starting to be discussed mainstream. One in six of us experienced it and that ratio will reduce if we talk about it more openly,” posted Lauzon. “It took me nearly two decades, many bouts of deep depression and lots of therapy to come terms with it, and I’m not sure I’ll ever get over it.”

Lauzon said two detectives who suspected he had been molested came to his house to investigate, but as a child, he didn’t have the courage to speak up.

“They were right, I had been molested by a man who lived across the street from the Little League field I played at,” Lauzon said, “but sadly, I was scared and confused and embarrassed and I didn’t have the courage to tell them what happened. I didn’t want to let my dad down and I just felt scared. I believe those officers were doing their best and I wasn’t able to work with them. I wasn’t ready. And I believe they were both doing their best to make a positive impact.

“I appreciate their effort and wish I could have given them the information they needed, but in retrospect, I realize that the nature of these crimes is that the young girl or boy finds themselves feeling so bad, even guilty, that absent more open discussion, those officers have an extraordinarily difficult job because our current culture of shame prevents victims from speaking up.”

There is a good place to start overhauling the system. Do not send uniformed policemen to question a child about sex abuse - you need someone less intimidating and you need some degree of privacy.

In a response to Lauzon from Beaupre, obtained by the Courier, Beaupre wrote, “Law enforcement’s primary role is to investigate and bring forward to prosecutors all potential criminal charges that are supported by victims’ statements and the evidence necessary to support arrest and conviction of the perpetrator.

“Police officers are sensitive to the challenges that victims face and make referrals to professional help and advocates. However, our focus must remain on the process pertaining to the offenders. Victim support comes from their families, friends, churches, victim support organizations and those specially trained experts in helping to deal with the emotional traumas of abuse.”

Beaupre said the police department has formal relationships with local support organizations. One sex crime investigator works closely with Sexual Assault Response Services of Southern Maine, a 24-hour crisis and support group that has been operating since 1973. Another officer works with a local branch of Community Partnership for Protecting Children. Beaupre also said he will provide the newspaper with more specific procedures about how officers handle sex assault investigations.

Beaupre, who has been police chief since 1980, said he would be willing to work with Lauzon to increase awareness about child sexual abuse, but would not want to sponsor an independent effort without involving the professional organizations the department works with.

“A community dialogue in an organized fashion, spearheaded by one of those organizations – I would absolutely participate in,” Beaupre said. “Those guys are trained. We work with them to help the victim as best we can and to recognize traits so we can refer them.”

According to the Maine Sex Offender Registry, Biddeford has 73 registered offenders, the seventh-highest number of any municipality in the state. Beaupre said he has a greater concern for the ones who aren’t registered, “the ones who are out there that haven’t been convicted.”

Beaupre said society has become more open and accepting of discussing sexual abuse over the last decades, but more efforts can be made to support victims who speak out.

“Fifteen or 20 years ago, to even broach the subject with family, you would be spoiled goods, you wouldn’t get support,” Beaupre said. “It’s like they’re victimized twice – once by the perpetrator and then (a second time) by the community that shuns them. At least today, there seems to be more tolerance and support.”

Beaupre said Lauzon is raising issues that commonly plague victims of sexual abuse.

“When people are victimized with a sexual offense, unfortunately, they get intimidated into not reporting it, get discouraged from reporting it,” Beaupre said.

“It’s kind of an embarrassing thing to admit to begin with.”

Casavant said Lauzon’s correspondence has compelled him to reach out to Superintendent Jeremy Ray to discuss what can be done to educate students and provide a more supportive environment in the city’s schools for sexual abuse victims. Casavant, who taught for 35 years, was a teacher at Biddeford High School when Lauzon attended.

“I was a teacher, that was my student, and I never knew,” Casavant said. “How many other kids are out there that have been abused and kept quiet about it? How do we create a culture that makes those students feel secure and comfortable coming forward?”

“If you harbor those feelings for years, I can’t imagine the emotional toll it would take,” Casavant added.

“(Lauzon is) pretty brave coming out and talking about it, and it seems some like sort of a catharsis for him.”

Lauzon said it wasn’t until he read an article last year by Ruzwana Bashir in The Guardian, that he felt inspired to share his story. After reading Bashir’s piece, Lauzon reached out to her and the two are now working on a global project to help those who have experienced sexual assault.

Lauzon said he didn’t go public with his experience until he first talked to his family because he didn’t want them to think that it was somehow their fault.

“My mom is my hero, I admire my brothers, and my extended family has always been there for me,” Lauzon said. “They were all shocked when I told them.”

Beaupre said he is prohibited by law from talking about the officer being investigated by the attorney general, but takes seriously any criminal activity by the city’s police officers.

“There’s nothing worse than a criminal cop,” Beaupre said. “It puts a black eye on the whole agency.”

Beaupre said when he first became police chief, the department did not have an adequate screening process for police officers. During his tenure, Beaupre said he instituted higher standards for screening applicants during the 1980s and 1990s, long before those standards became mandatory under statute in the mid-2000s.

“The department rejects substantially more applicants as a result of those screenings than ever,” Beaupre said.

About 90 percent of applicants are rejected by the department, Beaupre said. The application process to become a police officer includes physical examinations, background checks, a psychological evaluation and a polygraph test.

“We’ve weeded out people with previous sexual experiences, not necessarily illegal, but that raised concerns,” Beaupre said. “The advantage of a psychological exam is to get an idea of who we’re hiring. It’s a difficult process to determine if someone is being honest and up front with you.”

In terms of social media, Lauzon said the forum has helped him to be more transparent about his experience and to help others.

“We can talk openly about topics like sexual abuse to help make sure we’re protecting young women and men from sexual predators and also to help survivors,” Lauzon said. “Hearing people share their stories online has helped me tremendously, in toughest moments and deepest bouts of depression. The fact that we’re getting this going openly is already inspiring people.”

Lauzon commended Casavant for responding to his Facebook engagement, and wrote that initiative by city leaders is an important component in changing the cultural climate around child sexual abuse.

To victims of abuse, Lauzon writes in a personal blog, “I know how impossible it probably feels to take that next step and how nervous you might feel about how people will react. I felt the same way and I can tell you that all the assumptions I made about how I would feel or how others would react (were) wrong … I can assure you that when the time comes you will be blown away by the love and support. And you will also be blown away by how many people you know have shared a similar experience.”

On Facebook, he offered similar advice:

“If you’re a fellow survivor, please continue to feel comfortable to reach out to me confidentially, but please know I will ultimately want you to speak directly with investigators, with the attorney general or FBI,” Lauzon wrote. “I will listen and be there for you no matter what, but ultimately, you need to make a choice to talk to authorities or not. I’ll surely connect you if you want, but I also will not pressure you.”

Lauzon said there are two important things for survivors of sexual abuse or people who discover that a loved one has been abused to understand.

“It’s so important to remember it’s not your fault,” Lauzon said. “It’s natural to feel guilt, shame and embarrassment, but you need to work through it and recognize it’s not your fault.”

“The best step you can take is to talk to someone,” he added. “It’s best to talk to a professional and I always encourage survivors to seek professional therapy, but talking to any person that you trust is a great step.”

For those who support survivors of abuse, Lauzon said it is important to listen and be patient. The healing process can take years, and each survivor heals at their own pace.

“It’s definitely not a process measured in days or months,” Lauzon said. “Allow yourself and the survivor to go at a natural pace.”

For more information and resources, contact the Sexual Assault Response Services of Southern Maine at 1-800- 313-9900 or visit Matt Lauzon’s blog at: http://mattlauzon. tumblr.com/post/105454240679/surviving-abuse.