We, as Americans, and as global citizens, have taken ownership of a social ill that permeates all levels of society. We have reached a public and collective moral highground. Still, let us remind ourselves that to stay up there, there is work to be done. Right now, children are being sexually abused in our communities. Right now. Today. Next door. Down the street. At school. It is happening right now.
To better equip ourselves with how to prevent such horror, a good place to start is here:
http://www.d2l.org/site/c.4dICIJOkGcISE/b.6035035/k.8258/Prevent_Child_Sexual_Abuse.htm
Darkness to Light provides the know-how for starting new programs where you live. They have answers to your questions. Many other resources can be found on the website.
I will add that right now, women are being physically, emotionally, mentally and sexually abused, as are men. This is happening as you are reading this, and the statistics show that it is happening outside of the front door of your home and office, and inside of your home and office. Human beings are being abused for being gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered. Around the world, rape of women and girls, and boys and men, is used as a “weapon of war.”
Sexual violence, and all violence, demands that we say something everyday. It cannot be joked about, and it cannot be normalized any more than it has been already. We, as a nation, have an opportunity before us that is, (perhaps) arguably, unprecented. Our attention is focused.
Let’s not lose that focus, ever.
Sincerely,
Jim Murren, Penn State Class of 1996
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