It’s time to stop turning our heads

There’s no doubt that the media the last few weeks has been filled with coverage about sexual abuse. My question is where has everyone been all this time? The sexual abuse of our children and the willingness, ability and even practice of most people to look the other way is not new nor is it news. Sadly, it seems that once the issue hits college football and impacts a legend such as Coach Paterno everyone wants to be part of the conversation. I’m not disputing that positive changes may come from this series of events and I do tip my hat to the Trustees at Penn State for doing the right thing. Nevertheless, in my heart of hearts I sigh and think – talk is cheap and short-term reactions are not what we need.

While coverage of Penn State has been going on, far less time and space has been dedicated to looking at the complex events surrounding the suicide of Ashley Billasano whose cries for help (144 tweets during the 6 hours before her death) and calls for justice for her abuser and trafficker were loud and clear.  How many people didn’t take her seriously and
ignored her demands for help are not yet clear but one thing is certain–we failed her.

We need long-term commitments to deal with root causes of abuse and we need to say no to the culture of violence we have created in this country. On the eve of Thanksgiving lets take a minute to be honest and admit we could all do more to identify and end the cycle of abuse in our families and communities.

The time for talking has long been over each day we don’t take action a child’s life is destroyed. Just like we did before Penn State with our allies we are going to keep pushing forward for our children because they deserve better.