Childhood Sexual Abuse

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Recommended: Effects of family and society with incest

Introduction In recent years, due to the church sex abuse scandal, childhood sexual abuse has become one of the most highly publicized crimes in the United States. Unfortunately, despite this newfound interest in the scandalous topic of abuse, incest and more common sexual abuse cases involving family continue to be overlooked by society and the media. Understandably, intra-familial sexual abuse is a delicate and complex subject to acknowledge and dissect. Yet, by ignoring the subject entirely, we are doing a great disservice to the victims that have to actually endure these atrocious crimes and stay silent in fear. Furthermore, in choosing to not acknowledge that children are more likely be abused by a family member than by a stranger, we are consistently sending the wrong message to children about who offenders really are and what they actually look like. While it is a possibility that any given rapist will be a suspicious unknown assailant, chances are much greater that the assailant will be a acquaintance or family member. In order to correct many of these misconceptions, society needs to be introduced to true stories of incest and actively engage in conversations designed around preventing future victimizations. In When the Piano Stops: A Memoir of Healing from Sexual Abuse, Catherine McCall addresses the issue of incest in a blunt and honest manner that implores readers to not only respectfully listen to her story but to also reevaluate what they have been told about abuse. Without reservations, she also aims to encourage readers (mainly victims of abuse) to not be afraid about speaking up for themselves or reporting the abuse to the authorities. In her dedication, McCall states that her main goal in writing the memoir is... ... middle of paper ... ...religious. In other situations, a trustworthy friend or family member would be just as beneficial. Overall, When the Piano Stops was an outstanding book that highlighted an issue that is unfortunately ignored all too often by society. More importantly, however, I think Catherine’s story offers solace and comfort to victims that might otherwise feel alone in their battle against such a devastating victimization. Though gritty at times due to the graphic nature in which she describes the sexual abuse, the story acts as a representative for the thousands of other victims’ stories that go untold each and every day. If there is one adjective I could choose to describe McCall, I would definitely say she is brave. Hopefully, McCall’s tale inspires other victims to also speak out about incest so that it becomes a more visible (and thus preventable) crime in society.

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