Thank you, DH! (child abuse content)

I don't always agree with this guy, but he makes a really good point.

Resources for Sexual Abuse Survivors

Here are two Jewish community-related message boards for survivors of sexual abuse. If you know of more, please post them as comments. Thank you.

For men

For women

Sexual Abuse is a Crime, Period.

This deserves a re-post:

As a victim of abuse at the hands of a priest I can tell you that some 40 years after being molested I struggled with taking my own life. If it not for being a father an not wanting to leave a legacy of suicide i probably would have followed through.Today the laws are such most victims of abuse will never have a chance to confront their abusers or seek justice. these predators are protected by statue of limitaion laws.There is a bill before NY legislature to change this so childood victims have an opportu ity to seek justice. Both the catholic church and the majority of the Jewish communities leadership have fought to strike down this bill.

Posted by: Kevin Harrington

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I'm borrowing (I edited it a bit) some wording from here.

All incidents of sexual abuse of a minor by anyone must be reported to civil authorities.

Sexual abuse is a crime and should always be reported to police before notifying the organization where the crime occurred.

Organization leaders will be notified at the appropriate time by investigating authorities.

One reason the Catholic Church has a sex abuse crisis is because it handled these matters internally without notifying civil authorities. Sadly, many church leaders were more interested in the reputation of the church than the welfare of victims. (Sound familiar?)

"Until the diocese adopts a policy of public transparency, the loss of trust in the church will be hard to rebuild. Crimes involving the abuse of children are of the highest priority, and these matters must be handled promptly, professionally and in the light of day by public agencies designed to do so."

-JERRY MATYSIK Chief, Eau Claire Police Department

Yes! Replace diocese with Judaism and church with shul or yeshiva or (name of Jewish youth organization). The same point is applicable.

Re: Child Abuse, from Frum Follies

A Confession of Being Abused and Abusing.
Then there's this, too, also by him.

CDC: Sexual Abuse & Falling Prevention Guidelines

For Organizations
http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/dvp/PreventingChildAbuse.htm

contains link to: Preventing Child Sexual Abuse within Youth Serving Organizations: Getting Started On Policies and Procedures.


CDC published Child Maltreatment Surveillance: Uniform Definitions for Public Health and Recommended Data Elements.

While I'm at it, here's a link on Preventing Falls in Older Adults