Child Abuse is a Local, not Localized Problem

Child Abuse is a Local, not Localized Problem  

Late last year news broke that a beloved Penn State football coach was accused of child molestation.  Jerry Sandusky had been indicted (and later convicted) on charges of child molestation, and it appeared that one of our nations most highly regarded institutions had covered up one of the most egregious offenses against humanity that there is - again. Yes, it hadn’t been long after the Catholic Church child sexual abuse scandal and subsequent cover up. Or, long before the Boy Scouts of America released secret files detailing decades of abuse and cover-ups. This time however it was written that the mighty would fall. Joe Paterno stepped down as the head coach of Penn State after 46 years. And, even though the students rioted and cried in the streets, the public had spoken and child abuse was no longer going to be tolerated in our esteemed institutes.  However, even given the evidence that this was not an isolated incident with at least the two aforementioned scandals, the public was satisfied with taking the crown from Paterno, the news coverage stopped, and people went on about their lives. Even the investigation of another coach (Syracuse assistant basketball coach Bernie Fine) for child molestation did not invoke the ire the public, or the 24-hour news networks. The public it seemed was ok to consider it an isolated incident, and move on. The problem, however difficult to talk about, is still happening, right here in your community.

Last year, the Carousel Center for Abused Children here in Wilmington, NC saw 271 alleged abuse victims. Of those, 78 percent alleged sexual assault and 20 percent alleged physical and sexual abuse. For those of you not good at math, that equates to roughly 211 cases of sexual abuse and 54 cases of sexual and physical abuse right here in southeastern North Carolina. Jerry Sandusky had “almost 20” victims. To put that in perspective, the Carousel Center saw more than 10 times as many victims as Jerry Sandusky was indicted for, just last year. Now, I am not trying to trivialize what Sandusky did, it is and will always be deplorable, and it has ruined many lives, careers, and irreparably damaged a once revered football institution. But, in our community alone, we have nearly 300 cases reported. Southeastern North Carolina is not alone in the nation with these statistics, this is happening everywhere. There are 400,000 new victims of sexual assault every year on average. This is not a localized issue it is a local issue.

We can do better. While you can’t help the children abused by Jerry Sandusky, the Catholic Church, or the Boy Scouts, you can make a difference to the hundreds of children abused locally. The Carousel Center for Abused Children helps. They give children who have been made victims of abuse a safe place to be examined and interviewed to ensure that authorities have the evidence they need to punish the perpetrators, and receive social services, and therapy to help these children to heal. The Carousel Center is a non-profit organization that gets a significant portion of their operating budget from direct donations, and they need your help. Visit their website to donate, or volunteer, add your voice to the brave voices of those victims that have come forward and confronted their accusers. Tell the community and the world that we will not stand for this injustice, and tell the victims that we stand beside them.

Submitted by Eric Helin

Board Member

Carousel Center for Abused Children