This week’s topic: Sandusky Conviction and
Child Sexual Abuse Resources
I am honored to have my Twitter feed included in this list of 50 Best Twitter Feeds for Psychology Majors! Go check out the other 49, broken out into these categories: News; Organizations; Patients; and Professionals.
Best Tweets for Trauma and PTSD Survivors is a weekly Friday feature. My selections are entirely subjective, and I know it will never be possible to include every great resource tweeted. But I can try! I’ve personally read all tweeted links, and believe them to be of great value.
Disclaimer: I am in no way responsible for content found on any other website. Stay safe, and don’t follow links if you believe you might be triggered by them. Also, I will not be re-checking links from older Best Tweets posts, and if the site’s archived URL is different from the one I’ve provided here, you may need to do a search on their site.
Please Share My Stuff! You can now “like” and “share” this post everywhere with the touch of a button or two at the end of the linked tweets! Feel free to do any or all of that! (And thanks.)
@PemaQuotes “When we are present and awake,
emotions have a short lifespan,
but when we’re unconscious,
they can last for years.”
Some Tweets to Ponder
@heykim “I can’t help but think that everyone on Twitter either knows someone who has been molested as a child — or are themselves a victim of it .. “
@healthyplace “Real optimism is not the pep talk you give yourself. It is earned through the labor involved in emotional housekeeping.” ~ Augusten Burroughs
@PemaQuotes “The antidote to misery is to stay present.” ~ Pema Chödrön
Linked Tweets
Sandusky Conviction
@nytimes Sandusky Is Found Guilty on 45 of 48 Counts in Child Sexual Abuse Case
[SEO: “A jury in Centre County Court convicted Sandusky, 68, of sexually assaulting 10 boys, all of them children from disadvantaged homes whom Sandusky, using his access to the university’s vaunted football program, had befriended and then repeatedly violated. The jury, seven women and five men, more than half with ties to Penn State, returned a verdict on the second day of deliberation.”]
Resources for Male Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse*
[*While child sexual abuse is at the forefront this week, most organizations also support child abuse and neglect survivors as well.]
@1in6org Official @1in6org Statement on the Jerry Sandusky Case Conviction
[SEO: “The trial of Jerry Sandusky focused the country’s attention on the sexual abuse of boys. It also showcased the tremendous courage of the young men who came forward, who testified in court, and in so doing spoke powerfully to their own truths, and also to the larger truth of the sexual victimization of male children.”]
@1in6org Triggered by Sandusky trial? @1in6org and @RAINN01 have a SupportLine for men and those who care about them.
[SEO: “Who should use the Online SupportLine? Men who may have had unwanted or abusive sexual experience in childhood, family members, friends and partners of men who may have had those experiences.” See list of services available, and in the left column is a link to other hotlines and peer support.]
@Darkness2Light D2L Official Written Statement on Sandusky Verdict
[SEO: “This tragedy put a major social problem in the spotlight. Child sexual abuse touches too many lives and too many communities. We need to turn this moment in time into a real opportunity to increase awareness about the issue and prevent future injustice against children. We need every parent, caregiver, teacher, coach – every responsible adult — to be a better protector of children. We must insist on policies at the community and institutional levels to ensure that we keep the children in our lives safe.”
Darkness to Light offers numerous child sexual abuse prevention programs. See also its prevention resources for parents and individuals.]
@Darkness2Light Thank you to the Sandusky survivors. — [From] The children you saved
[SEO: Simple, powerful reminder that when anyone speaks out, there is great potential to directly impact another person’s life for the better.]
@RAINN01 What the Sandusky guilty verdict means for survivors, official statement from RAINN
[SEO: “If something positive can come out of this, it is that the strength of the survivors who testified has already encouraged thousands of survivors nationwide to take the first steps towards recovery through the National Sexual Assault Hotline (800.656.HOPE and online.rainn.org), creating record demand for the hotline’s services.”]
@MaleSurvivorORG MaleSurvivor Issues Statement on Sandusky and Lynn Verdicts
[SEO: “Abuse thrives on shadows, secrecy, and silence. When those who have been silenced begin to speak, we all begin to heal. Each man’s testimony resonated with raw emotional power, ripping the covers off of an ugly wound society has permitted to fester. It is both shocking and deeply unsettling to have our collective pain so brutally exposed. Only by exposing the ugly truth that we can begin a healing process that will help us all.”
“MaleSurvior (www.MaleSurvivor.org), the nation’s preeminent resource for male victims of sexual abuse, is committed to preventing, healing, and eliminating all forms of sexual victimization of boys and men through support, treatment, research, education, advocacy, and activism.”]
Sandusky Commentary
@DrKathleenYoung Sandusky Trial: Healing vs. Justice
[SEO: Although this post was published before the trial concluded, it discusses what’s at stake in the larger context for survivors. “Will justice be done? This is the question trauma survivors grapple with when thinking about pressing charges. Contending with the legal system can be an out of control and overwhelming experience. Regardless of the legal outcome, healing is possible. Sometimes speaking your truth, no matter how it is received, can be part of that process.”
This post also links to resources, including an excellent FAQ at Stop It Now!]
@DrKathleenYoung Mari Fagel: With Jerry Sandusky Trial Over, Now a Call to Action (via Huffington Post)
[SEO: “So how do we move forward now, after hearing about the nightmares these men say they lived as little boys, stories of screams that went unanswered, abuse that went unnoticed? When the verdict comes in, do we watch the media coverage of it, then turn the channel, move on to the next big story? No. Just as those 12 jurors now have a responsibility to give these alleged victims justice, so too does each of us. …”
“My hope is that once the verdict is in, the lessons learned from this trial are not forgotten. My call to action to all of us who have been following the trial is to continue to raise awareness and to try to prevent child sex abuse. How? Education.” The post goes on to list various ways in which education can be made the key to prevention. It’s an important post in that Mari Fagel is reaching viewers in a mainstream news source who may not have thought much — if at all — about these issues prior to Sandusky’s trial.]
@SuePeaseBanitt The Significance of the Sandusky Verdict
“As a therapist I treated many victims of sexual predators. It may surprise you to learn that less than one quarter of my patients’ perpetrators were ever publicly accused, prosecuted or convicted. Most of the victims/survivors were still carrying the secret when they came to therapy. And there’s a good reason for this. Of the perpetrators that were convicted, most served a vastly inadequate sentence.”
This is another element by which victims are made to feel less valuable: they tell, they prosecute, and then their abuser — if convicted — gets out of prison sometimes in a matter of months. “There are many predators in high places. Jerry Sandusky is only one, and only the beginning. In the past, these guys (and, yes, they are mostly guys) have been able to operate with only the slightest anxiety of ever being caught. Today all of that changes. Forever.”]
@heykim Check out @danajacobson’s powerful blog post. The time for silence is over.
[SEO: “There’s no discrimination when it comes to child sexual abuse. It isn’t a socioeconomic issue, a racial issue, or even one of gender. Think about it. Travis Weaver, who I mentioned earlier, was a young boy from a broken home, growing up without a lot of means. I was a young girl from a supportive and loving family growing up in an upper middle class neighborhood. We couldn’t be more different and yet we both suffered, in silence. …”
“I’ve learned that each time I tell my story, I let go of some of the shame and guilt I’ve carried with me for years. Those feelings so deeply buried at times they seem never ending. So truth be told, my sharing right now is really just a part of that long road to recovery I mentioned earlier, the one Jerry Sandusky’s victims are just beginning. I’d like to thank them for helping me take this latest step, finding my voice. I hope by doing so, I can help others find theirs.”]
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
