MommyNoire features my latest post on keeping your kids safer this summer.
Category: Child safety
Let’s jump-start bullying prevention
One of my closest friends once told me, “When you really think about it, bullying is just low-level sexual abuse.” That thought stuck with me. What also stuck with me is how prevention of bullying is similar to the prevention of child sexual abuse. It requires good communication, strong self-esteem, and engaged parents who understand the…Continue reading Let’s jump-start bullying prevention
Twin Cities Archbishop resigns—or—Who is shrewd and who is brave?
My email was flooded this morning with news that St. Paul and Minneapolis Archbishop John C. Nienstedt and Auxiliary Bishop Lee A. Piché had resigned. If you haven’t been following the news, the archdiocese has been hammered during the past two years as legal disclosures showed that Archdiocese officials knew about child sexual abuse and…Continue reading Twin Cities Archbishop resigns—or—Who is shrewd and who is brave?
La Respuesta Compasiva
The Compassionate Response: How to help and empower the adult victim of child sexual abuse is now available in Spanish. Paperback and Kindle editions. About the book: One of the hardest things that many adult survivors of child sexual abuse will ever do is come forward and tell someone. Even if the survivor finally discloses decades…Continue reading La Respuesta Compasiva
One Servite High School file is all you need
This is probably the most telling document trail from today’s release of clergy sex abuse documents. From the file of Servite Friar and former Servite HS teacher Joe Sharkey: Letter from Fr. Steven Ryan to Servite Provincial Fr. Terence O’Connor: One of the difficulties awaiting my return from Australia was that Joe Sharkey had been guilty…Continue reading One Servite High School file is all you need
Inside the TEDx speaker’s mind
What do you do when you get the chance of a lifetime? Worry. And sweat. I was selected to be a speaker for the May 30 TEDx Pasadena Women conference. Being a speaker at TED and TEDx are HUGE goals of mine … so I have to admit: when I received the acceptance, I thought that…Continue reading Inside the TEDx speaker’s mind
Bar date set for St. Paul/Minneapolis abuse victims
A federal bankruptcy judge has set an August 3 deadline for victims of child sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of Minneapolis/St. Paul. The deadline, called a BAR DATE, is the final day and men and women abused as children can file claims against the Archdiocese to expose their abuser and get justice and accountability. The…Continue reading Bar date set for St. Paul/Minneapolis abuse victims
When the sheep smell a rat: A message on Zero Tolerance
In his Holy Thursday message, Pope Francis told priests to embrace a “good and healthy” tiredness by spending engaged time with the faithful and doing the “real work” of a priest. From Reuters: The faithful never leave us without something to do, unless we hide in our offices or go out in our cars wearing…Continue reading When the sheep smell a rat: A message on Zero Tolerance
An epidemic of child sex abuse in our public schools
There’s a banner that hangs outside of Costa Mesa’s (California) Whittier Elementary School. Its slogan— Children are our first priority—is a painfully ironic reminder of one of the biggest problems plaguing our public schools. That problem is child sexual abuse by public school employees—an epidemic that is raging out of control. Don’t believe it’s a problem?…Continue reading An epidemic of child sex abuse in our public schools
A question about adult victims
I am currently reading SPLIT: A CHILD, A PRIEST AND THE CATHOLIC CHURCH by my friend Mary Dispenza. Abuse memoirs are usually a tough read, but Mary discusses her life with grace and respect—very similar to the way she lives her life. While I am not done with the book, something struck me at the…Continue reading A question about adult victims
Shattuck-St. Mary’s Part Three: Inside the mind of a predator
I give you two predators: One fictional. One real. The similarities will stun you. “It’s very boring, having to listen to the silly little troubles of an eleven-year-old girl,” he went on. “But I was patient. I wrote back. I was sympathectic, I was kind. Ginny simply loved me. No one’s ever understood me…Continue reading Shattuck-St. Mary’s Part Three: Inside the mind of a predator
Shattuck-St. Mary’s Part 2: The choice
*** This post is updated with a statement by Shattuck-St. Mary’s.*** In 2003, Headmaster Nick Stoneman had a choice. His drama teacher had been found with child pornography on a school computer. This same teacher—Lynn Seibel—had admitted to being complicit in “Naked Dance Parties” with male students in school bathrooms. Seibel was also rumored to have…Continue reading Shattuck-St. Mary’s Part 2: The choice
The Total Failure of Shattuck-St. Mary’s
A boarding school. Naked dance parties. Child pornography. Molestation. An arrest. A suicide. Allegations. Lawsuits. A cover-up. Total institutional ethical failure. When I first heard about the scandal at Minnesota’s Shattuck-St. Mary’s (I’ll refer to it from now on as SSM), I had a hard time wrapping my arms around the extent of the criminal…Continue reading The Total Failure of Shattuck-St. Mary’s
Do you know the signs of child sex trafficking?
I didn’t … and note: these children can be as young as 11 From today’s OC Register (emphasis mine): Though there isn’t a single background or profile that describes all those girls, summit presenters said there are typical risk factors – including poverty, family dysfunction, learning disabilities, childhood sexual abuse, isolation, emotional distress and…Continue reading Do you know the signs of child sex trafficking?
Ask a Question Friday: How can I learn more about the Survivors’ Movement
(Note: Yes, I am actually posting this on a Friday. Shocker.) How can I learn more about the Survivors’ Movement and SNAP, that organization with whom you do so much work? Is there anywhere I can hear the best and brightest speakers on the topic and meet people who are working for justice for adult…Continue reading Ask a Question Friday: How can I learn more about the Survivors’ Movement
Ask a Question Friday: My kid is too young for prevention education
Joelle, you constantly stress how important it is to “armor” your child against abuse from as early as infancy and toddlerhood. I don’t agree. My child is too young to know about sex. Why do you insist on exposing children so early and ruining their innocence? Armoring your child does NOT include talking about sex.…Continue reading Ask a Question Friday: My kid is too young for prevention education
Naughty Twitter Feed? Say Adios to that scholarship, my friend!
Talking to teenagers about their social media presence can be a drag. But if you have a teen and that teen is online, talking to your kid about his or her “online presence” can make the difference between a free college education and a lifetime of student debt. Don’t believe me? Just ask the high schooler…Continue reading Naughty Twitter Feed? Say Adios to that scholarship, my friend!
Ask a Question Friday: Reporting and Institutions
This week’s question, two days late. Joelle, how do scandals in places like Penn State and the Catholic Church start? I mean, these aren’t bad people in these institutions, right? Will new policies by these organizations and others make sure that men and women who abuse children are reported and stopped, instead of protected? This…Continue reading Ask a Question Friday: Reporting and Institutions
My interview on Lawpreneur Radio: Civil rights for crime victims
Last, week, I spoke with Miranda Dempsey McCroskey of Lawpreneur Radio about the importance of civil rights for crime victims, how plaintiffs’ attorneys have been instrumental in exposing abuse … and, of course, THE WELL-ARMORED CHILD. The podcast is up and you can listen here. Or, you can check out the interview on iTunes.