In her autobiography, “Home: A Memoir of My Early Years,” Julie Andrews reveals the dark secret of sexual abuse that is too often kept hidden. Andrews reveals that when she was fifteen, her drunken stepfather jumped on her and said, “I really have to teach you how to kiss properly.” He then kissed her full on her lips. Andrews states: “It was a deep, wet kiss, a horrible experience.” He tried to repeat her attempt to teach Andrews how to kiss properly, but she rebuffed him. She also installed a deadbolt on her bedroom door and managed to avoid being alone with him.
Andrews does not reveal if he told anyone. One might wonder if she said what was done. Since she didn’t reveal what she said, I assume she didn’t. Not telling about sexual abuse is a sad situation, because it leaves the person, as well as others, vulnerable to being abused. However, this is a common response to this horrible experience.
The girls are scripted and rewarded for not causing a scene and for being cute and reticent. Children are given a script and rewarded for being strong and showing courage in every situation. The typical child sex offender sexually abuses an average of 117 children, most do not report the crime – National Institute of Mental Health. 1988 This statistic has remained constant for many decades.
Child sexual abuse is the world’s largest hidden epidemic. US statistics reveal that up to 62 percent of women and 31 percent of men will be sexually assaulted before the age of 18.
“If a disease affected our children in such enormous numbers, we would declare a national emergency. Money for research to find a cure would be immediately available.” States Claire R. Reeves, President/Founder/CEO of Mothers Against Sexual Abuse – MASA
Prevention has eluded all of society, even passionate and committed prevention advocates, because society focuses most efforts entirely on repairing the damage. In recent years, many informative and educational books have been written about incest and child sexual abuse. That this hitherto taboo subject be addressed is of the utmost importance to enlighten society about this heinous crime against our innocent children. While this terrible crime has been widely exposed, little has been offered to prevent it.
Children, as young as two or three years old, can frustrate a potential sex offender if they are
armed with permission and knowledge. Parents need to empower their children and support them in ownership of their bodies and their lives.