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Do Stiffer Penalties for Child Sexual Abuse Crimes Have the Desired Effect?

May 23, 2023

Earlier this month, Florida governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill expanding the death penalty for a number of crimes including sexual assault and sexual battery for children under the age of 12. This is a part of a larger initiative in the state of Florida to increase consequences for more severe criminal offenses such as crimes against children. However, the tougher sentencing in this state legislation may not have the desired deterrence when it comes to crimes against children.

In cases of sexual violence, and crimes against children, there is a component that many lawmakers fail to understand. Regardless of the state in which you reside, everyone is protected by the United States Constitution. The Sixth Amendment to the United States Bill of Rights allows the accused to be “confronted with the witnesses against him and to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses and his favor.” Because of this right, every state has a requirement to some degree in which someone who is a victim of a crime must testify in the trial of a person accused of committing the crime.

According to the Massachusetts Children’s Alliance, last year 7,346 children sought help at Children’s Advocacy Centers (CACs) across the Commonwealth. Forty-four percent of those children were under 12 years old. One of the greatest challenges in securing prosecution of individuals who are allegedly committing crimes against children is the requirement of the child victim to testify in court.

Here is the obstacle in prosecuting the perpetrators of child sexual abuse – more than 90% of them are somebody that child knows, trusts, and most likely, loves. Thirty to 40% of perpetrators of sexual abuse are family members, whether directly in the home or extended family. Children who disclose their abuse often talk about their struggles of asking for help (of which only 1 in 10 child victims ever will), often over the concern of the consequences for that loved one.

What many fail to understand is that sexual crimes against children happen gradually over time. Perpetrators groom their victims and manipulate the environment around a child who is their target, including parents and adults who know the victim. They create an atmosphere of trust and incrementally desensitize the child to sexual conversations, images, or behavior. Or they take advantage of that child’s limited knowledge of sexual matters or their inability to communicate what is happening.

Often, when a child first understands that what is happening should not be happening, there is immense confusion. These perpetrators of child sexual abuse manipulate the mind of children to make them believe that they themselves are doing something wrong, rather than the offender. The guilt, shame, and embarrassment the victim feels prevents them from wanting to talk about it. Not only do perpetrators create so much confusion and shame within children, but they also try to make others around them unlikely to believe the child even if they do ask for help.

Moreover, if a child asks for help, seeks support, and begins the process of trying to hold this person accountable, these predators know that the likelihood of them going to trial is very small. While children provide initial disclosure of abuse when working with a CAC, the testimony provided in these initial reports cannot be used in court. Even if the evidence of abuse is clear in a victim’s testimony at the CAC, that perpetrator has a right to a trial, has a right to an attorney, and has a right for that attorney to cross-examine the victim to create reasonable doubt. This challenge often leads to sexual abuse cases, especially those against young children, dropped or plead out for a significantly reduced sentence, or sometimes no punishment at all.

While increasing the penalty for committing child sexual abuse to a capital offense may seem like an increased deterrent, it may not change the fact these crimes are hard to prosecute. The challenge for law enforcement is the connection between the perpetrator and the child, whether it is a connection of trust or a familial relationship. There could also be a correlation between the victim’s willingness to ask for help and what is the consequence that help could mean for the individual or their family.

Children can identify at an incredibly early age the roles within families. Sometimes the role of the perpetrator is the sole breadwinner, who takes care of the family financially. If that person went away, what would happen to their family? Or what if everyone adored that person, and this child comes forward with a heinous allegation of abuse, would everyone else hate them, would they support the victim, or would they blame them for the loss of this adult? What if this abuser is the only adult they have in their life? Would that child want to see them in jail forever or killed?

This overwhelming requirement in the criminal justice system for children to make decisions impacting the life of a perpetrator is devastatingly unfair. It is far too much to require child victims to testify in court in front of strangers and be cross-examined about one of the worst experiences in their own life, while recalling all the embarrassing and shameful details.

Yes, there is a need to provide deterrence of this behavior and to penalize actions of it. However, our criminal justice system is established for adults, which gives little assistance to the needs of children or their rights. If we truly wish to change our society, to reduce crimes against children and increase consequences for perpetrators of abuse, we need to do more than enact stiffer penalties. There needs to be requirements for child protection and safety standards in every youth serving organization nationally. There needs to be clear and understandable reporting guidelines for suspicions of abuse in all youth serving organizations and frequent required training of how to follow those guidelines. There needs to be reduced barriers for reports by mandated reporters and less opportunity for bureaucratic systems to hold up reports of suspected abuse. And there needs to be a national standard for who qualifies as a mandated reporter and when they are obligated to report.

For so long there has been so much talk about how our children are our future, however, there is no standard, no expectation of how we will come together collectively to protect them from child abuse. And, in instances where systems fail to protect children, there needs to be a better way in which children can be supported to hold perpetrators accountable.

Sources:

1. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/desantis-expands-death-penalty-include-child-rape-setting-likely-court-rcna82413
2. https://www.aclu.org/united-states-bill-rights-first-10-amendments-constitution
3. https://machildrensalliance.org

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It’s Time to Have The Conversation

April 18, 2023

April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month, which is an important time for non-profits and advocacy groups to raise awareness of child abuse and neglect. The statistics on child abuse are overwhelming. One in four girls — and one in six boys — will be sexually abused before their 18th birthday. Most victims suffer in silence. It is estimated that more than 90 percent of abuse victims never report what happened to them. Even more alarming is that more than 90 percent of perpetrators are someone that an abused child knows and trusts – a coach, camp counselor, teacher, someone in their faith community, or a family member. This is a public health crisis our communities must face.

April is also Sexual Assault Awareness Month, in which 1 in 6 women and 1 in 26 men will experience a sexual assault in adulthood. Young men in college face a risk of sexual assault five times higher than the national average. This month is a rallying cry across the state and nation to urge our community to come together to make a difference.

So, for these two important awareness initiatives, Children’s Cove, Independence House, a Safe Place Nantucket and CONNECT to End Violence have partnered in an effort to create a joint public awareness poster campaign titled “It’s Time to Have the Conversation.” With this first collaborative campaign, for the first time in our organizations’ histories, we are united to bring the issues of exploitation, assault and abuse of adults and children to the forefront of our community conversations. We need to engage our community at a broader level to truly impact the future. The poster features bold colors to catch attention, Cape & Island imagery, concise language, and a QR code and website URL where anyone can learn about the services our agencies provide on the Cape and Islands. The website includes direct access to emergency hotlines to help survivors of abuse gain access to supportive services.

As part of the campaign, we are partnering with local area Chambers of Commerce to encourage local businesses to share these posters in spaces such as bathrooms or other communal areas where victims of abuse may see them and learn about help available to them. Each of our organizations will also be distributing posters across our community to raise awareness, and work together on a matching social media campaign.

Our message has been missing in locations that people frequent. It is missing in restaurants and bars. It is missing in recreational centers and activities. It is missing in hotels and resorts. We are missing in the places most people work, or shop, or get their lunch. For too long, our visibility has been missing from most people’s lives. For too long, sexual and domestic violence has remained a taboo subject hidden in the shadows, which increases the likelihood of the victimization, and minimizes the chances someone will receive support.

As a community, we cannot afford to do that anymore.

Sexual assault, domestic violence, child sexual abuse, and sexual exploitation happens here. It happens in every town on Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, and Nantucket. These issues impact people of all ages, genders, cultural backgrounds, and socioeconomic status.

“It’s Time to Have the Conversation.” It’s time to bring these issues to light.

We believe we can create communities where everyone lives free from abuse, has a voice that is heard, and can enjoy healthy, safe, and empowered lives. And we need your help to do it.

If you would like to support the mission to raise awareness about these issues, please reach out to the representative from the organization that serves your area:

Jacob Stapledon, Children’s Cove, Jacob.Stapledon@childrenscove.org

Chris Morin, Independence House, ChrisM@indhouse.net

Morgan Beausoleil, CONNECT to End Violence, MBeausoleil@mvcommunityservices.org

Rachel Devine, A Safe Place Nantucket, rachel@asafeplacenantucket.org

A special thank you to each member of this committee in their incredible work on this project. And an additional special thanks to the team at Pierce-Coté Advertising for turning the concept of our vision into reality.

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Adverse Childhood Experiences: The Hidden Public Health Crisis

March 20, 2023

In 2014, Pediatrician Nadine Burke, later appointed as Surgeon General of California (2019-2022), presented a TedTalk which summarized a major public health crisis impacting Americans. Dr. Burke Harris stated:

In the mid-’90s, the CDC and Kaiser Permanente discovered an exposure that dramatically increased the risk for seven out of ten of the leading causes of death in the United States. In high doses, it affects brain development, the immune system, hormonal systems, and even the way our DNA is read and transcribed. Folks who are exposed in very high doses have triple the lifetime risk of heart disease and lung cancer and a 20-year difference in life expectancy. And yet, doctors today are not trained in routine screening or treatment. Now, the exposure I’m talking about is not a pesticide or a packaging chemical. It’s childhood trauma.”

When Dr. Burke Harris references childhood trauma, she explains that this term falls under a larger category of what is called Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) define ACE as “…traumatic events that occur in childhood such as experiencing violence, abuse, or neglect, witnessing violence in the home or community and/or having a family member attempt or die by suicide. Also included are aspects of the child’s environment that can undermine their sense of safety, stability, and bonding, such as growing up in a household with substance use, mental health problems, or instability due to parental separation or household members being in jail or prison.” According to the CDC, 61% of adults surveyed had experienced at least one type of ACE before age 18, and nearly 1 in 6 reported they had experienced four or more.

The original ACE study in the 1990’s, in which more than 17,000 individuals across 25 states participated, found a direct link between a high of number of ACEs causing greater negative outcomes across the span of a person’s life.

This is illustrated by the CDC’s ACE Pyramid:

Additional surveys taken in the late 2010’s, assessing the impacts of ACE in smaller and more diverse communities have replicated this link and identified that the impacts of ACE may also increase the risk for the commercial sexual exploitation of children.

With such profound results and studies about ACE, it is concerning that so many in the general public haven’t heard of it. In our community engagement and education efforts, Children’s Cove has often found that even professionals and community members have heard not of ACE.

It is hard to understand how a public health crisis of this magnitude goes largely unnoticed or unknown in the general community. It certainly isn’t due to the lack of evidence-based information. So why is this? Dr. Burke Harris offers a theory in her TedTalk:

You know, at first I thought that we marginalized the issue because it doesn’t apply to us. That’s an issue for those kids in those neighborhoods. Which is weird, because the data doesn’t bear that out… If I were to ask how many people in this room grew up with a family member who suffered from mental illness, I bet a few hands would go up. And then if I were to ask how many folks had a parent who maybe drank too much, or who really believed that if you spare the rod, you spoil the child, I bet a few more hands would go up. Even in this room, this is an issue that touches many of us, and I am beginning to believe that we marginalize the issue because it does apply to us. Maybe it’s easier to see in other zip codes because we don’t want to look at it. We’d rather be sick.”

Is this the case? Is the lack of awareness, conversation and acknowledgement of the problem exist because it impacts so many of us?

Let’s find out.

The full questionnaire in the original ACE study was very comprehensive with more than 200 questions. So, in order to help more people, the organization ACEs Too High winnowed down those questions to a simple questionnaire, and here it is:

Prior to your 18th birthday:

• Did a parent or other adult in the household often or very often swear at you, insult you, put you down, or humiliate you or act in a way that made you afraid that you might be physically hurt?
• Did a parent or other adult in the household often or very often push, grab, slap, or throw something at you or ever hit you so hard that you had marks or were injured?
• Did an adult or person at least 5 years older than you ever touch or fondle you or have you touch their body in a sexual way or attempt or have oral, anal, or vaginal intercourse with you?
• Did you often or very often feel that no one in your family loved you or thought you were important or special? Or your family didn’t look out for each other, feel close to each other, or support each other?
• Did you often or very often feel that you didn’t have enough to eat, had to wear dirty clothes, and had no one to protect you? Or were your parents were too drunk or high to take care of you or take you to the doctor if you needed it?
• Were your parents ever separated or divorced?
• Was your mother or stepmother often or very often pushed, grabbed, slapped, or had something thrown at her or sometimes, often, or very often kicked, bitten, hit with a fist, or hit with something hard, or ever repeatedly hit over at least a few minutes or threatened with a gun or knife?
• Did you live with anyone who was a problem drinker or alcoholic, or who used street drugs?
• Was a household member depressed or mentally ill, or did a household member attempt suicide?
• Did a household member go to prison?

Every time a person answers “yes” to one of the above questions, it is an affirmation of an Adverse Childhood Experience.

Regardless of the total number, it is important to understand that individuals may be negatively impacted across time, however, it is not a given.  There is hope for a better future when positive experiences, protective factors, and early-intervention efforts are implemented following trauma. These mitigating actions can reduce the influence of ACE to lessen the unhealthy impacts across someone’s lifespan.

We believe that the best way to mitigate the lifelong impacts of ACE in our communities is by talking about it. We need to continue conversations in our family and friend groups, ask teachers, counselors, and pediatricians if they have heard of the ACE study and if not, ask them to learn about it. Our society needs the ACE study to become a requirement in higher education degrees for those who wish to work in counseling, social work, or medicine.

It can be hard for individuals to acknowledge ACE experiences, but in doing so it may change the narrative of one’s own childhood and relationships with family and friends. It can also be beneficial to prevention efforts by helping to identify ways in which families and communities could reduce the likelihood of ACE in the next generation.

Understanding protective factors and working as a community to support children and families is critical, as well as acknowledging the impacts of ACE and how to reduce the effects of these experiences through early intervention. As a Child Advocacy Center for Cape Cod and the Islands, Children’s Cove will utilize evidenced based practices to help children who have experienced violence and abuse. Our network of community providers is here to offer hope and healing to mitigate the long-term impacts of trauma.

If you would like to learn more about how we can create a community where children are free of abuse, have a voice that is heard, and can enjoy healthy, safe, and empowered lives, please contact Jacob Stapledon, Community Engagement and Education Program Manager at Children’s Cove.

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