subject: Senator Scott Brown's Secret of Childhood Sexual Abuse [print this page] Senator Scott Brown's Secret of Childhood Sexual Abuse
I applaud Senator Brown for coming forward and sharing about the sexual abuse he endured as a child. The more prominent people that come forward and share their stories the brighter the spotlight will be cast upon an epidemic that has been growing in the shadows for generations. OnNovember 5, 2010,when Tyler and 200 abused men also stood together with one voice acted as the lithium that gave energy to Senator Brown to reveal his childhood secret.
Two trends are evident in the existing statistics on male victims of sexual abuse: the more recent the research, the higher the incidence of abuse with growing awareness, more men seem willing to disclose.
A recent study of 30 male victims of sexual abuse, the average age at the first time of abuse was 8 years, 4 months.32% of (or an estimated 4,519) involved males. 16% of these investigations involved boys in the 4 - 7 age group. Male victims of sexual abuse constitute an extremely under-identified, under-served and frequently misunderstood population. Children may resist reporting sexual abuse because they are afraid of angering the offender, blame themselves for the abuse or feel guilty and ashamed. In order to increase reporting, parents and adults who interact with children, such as school personnel, teachers, counselors, child care workers, Boy and Girl Scout troop leaders and coaches, should be educated about the behavioral and physical symptoms of child sexual abuse. I am also a victim/survivor of childhood sexual abuse and I have spoken/counseled hundreds of men over the past twenty years.
The magic of one victim helping another is unparalleled. It's usually easier for one victim to talk to another victim. Another benefit from one victim helping another is the ability to see through the words for that person and be able to discern truth from denial. I learned in group one night that I was surrounded by people who were just like me, and who could see through my denial. The years of lying about our feelings had trained us to be able make an assessment of people very quickly. We never lose that ability to read people and when speaking with a fellow victim, there was nowhere to hide. I remember a gentleman who helped me told me that he had some good news and bad news to share about this recovery thing. The good news is that there is a cure. The bad news is that its other victims just like Senator Brown.
When looking at the 60 minutes interviewed I noticed that Senator Brown was far from getting on solid ground with his trauma. A victim of sexual abuse when speaking about the abuse becomes lifeless and detatched emotionally. Senator Brown looked like an empty vessel when Lesley Stahl asked him questions about the childhood trauma. During most of the interview he was very uncomfortable with talking about the childhood abuse. The process of recovery takes time and a lot of work to fully recover from sexual abuse. I am so proud of Senator Brown and his willingness to start down this path of recovery.
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