If we can share our story with someone who responds with empathy and understanding, shame can’t survive. – Brené Brown, Daring Greatly One of the most common emails I get is from people who say, “Joelle, my friend just told me that s/he was sexually abused as a child. I don’t know what…Continue reading Giving the “Compassionate Response” to the adult victim of child sexual abuse
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
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
*** 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
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