Hendricks Chapel held a forum Tuesday evening for students and community members to discuss child sexual abuse for a second time in response to the recent child molestation allegations against Bernie Fine. The panel, composed of men and women with different connections to sexual abuse, spoke of the implications of child abuse and how to prevent it.

Thomas Wolfe, Syracuse University’s senior vice president and dean of student affairs, facilitated the panel. He said although the events at Pennsylvania State University and SU have been highlighted by the media, cases of child sexual abuse are not rare occurrences. One in four girls and one in six boys are sexually abused by the time they are 16, he said.

‘The focus of our conversation will be the bigger picture of the issue,’ Wolfe said. ‘Change begins from becoming educated.’

The first panelist to speak was Julie Cecile, executive director of the McMahon/Ryan Child Advocacy Center. The center moved to a new building last June, allowing it to house a team of mental health providers, child protection workers and child abuse pediatricians and detectives, all working together in one environment. The new building allows for them to help children and families learn to cope with sexual abuse more efficiently, Cecile said.

Bryan Lendy, a detective sergeant who works for the Abused Persons Unit of the Syracuse Police Department, also spoke. His unit comprises detectives specially trained to handle not only child abuse cases, but also cases involving all kinds of sexual abuse and violence. He said the officers work hard to support the victim and their story.

Ellen Ford, clinical director at Vera House, spoke of the effects sexual abuse has on children.

‘The most important thing is that kids are believed, that someone can listen to them and believe them,’ she said.

Allison Young, the director of sexual abuse services and family transition services at Elmcrest Children’s Center, had a different side of the story to tell. She does not work with or treat the victims, but works with the sex offenders.

‘To truly look at prevention, we need to look at where this is coming from and what motivates their behavior,’ she said.

As an adult survivor of sexual abuse, David Hubert spoke of his recovery. Although Hubert receives one-on-one and group therapy at Vera House, he said memories of sexual abuse are not forgotten easily.

‘I can tell you exactly what I was wearing, exactly what the room looked like, exactly where the dressers were and the color of the paint on the walls,’ he said.

Though recovery doesn’t happen overnight, he said he believes it’s possible.

‘The hardest thing you can do is recover your life. But soon you realized you’re doing it, and you look back at how far you’ve come.’ he said.

Janet Epstein, the director of the Advocacy Center at SU, said the center is a resource students can use on campus, and it is important for students to know their options when confronted with issues such as sexual abuse.

Sam Myers, a junior exercise science major, and Eric McGriff, a freshman on a pre-law track, spoke on behalf of Mentors of Violence Prevention, a peer leadership program under the Advocacy Center.

Myers and McGriff discussed the importance of speaking up and doing something after witnessing a violent act.

‘Everyone can be a bystander, but everyone also has the ability in them to be an empowered bystander,’ Myers said.

At the end of the discussion, the floor was opened up to questions from the audience.

Diane Murphy, dean of the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics, asked why, in a country with many genuinely concerned people, some continue to be so ignorant about the topic of sexual abuse.

Young said the root of that answer begins with society’s impression that sex is a taboo subject.

‘We are a country that is so infiltrated with sex, but we don’t talk to our kids about it,’ she said. ‘We don’t talk about our bodies.’

Everyone on the panel agreed that when dealing with a topic as fragile as sexual abuse, constant discussion is key.

Said Wolfe: ‘The silence has been broken here. Remember the importance of talking to each other.’

seschust@syr.edu 

Published on February 7, 2012 at 12:00 pm

Contact Sarah: seschust@syr.edu