'Culture of silence' envelops sexual abuse of rural kids; training program in Oregon and California seeks change

Photo by Kristina Flour, Unsplash

Wikipedia describes the culture or conspiracy of silence as "the behavior of a group of people of some size, as large as an entire national group or profession or as small as a group of colleagues, that by unspoken consensus does not mention, discuss, or acknowledge a given subject."

Silence can proliferate problems; however, "A program that educates adults in rural Oregon and California about child sexual abuse is increasing the likelihood that victims will get the help and protection they need, according to a new report issued by one of the program’s funders," reports Claire Carlson of The Daily Yonder. "The report, made in collaboration with Oregon State University and the [Oregon-based] Ford Family Foundation, found that adult participants in the Protect Our Children training are three times more likely to know the signs of sexual abuse in children and five times more likely to know how to prevent abuse in their community after taking the training."

Carlson writes, "Protect Our Children participants also reported change in their communities’ norms surrounding conversations about abuse. In the United States, reluctance to discuss the topic creates what the report calls a 'culture of silence' that isolates survivors of child sexual abuse, despite the likelihood that they are surrounded by others with similar experiences. Of the 10,748 program participants who were surveyed for the report, a third said they were survivors of childhood sexual abuse."

“Historically, the topic of sex is taboo, and it’s hard to talk about,” Mary Ratliff, Protect Our Children project director, told Carlson. “The way we talk about child sexual abuse sometimes can inhibit kids from disclosure.” Carlson notes, "This culture is especially prevalent in rural areas, where a 'not in my town' attitude – the perception that small towns are safer – can prevent people from reporting or discussing abuse, according to the nonprofit ValorUS."

"The goal of the Protect Our Children training is to normalize conversations about sex and child sexual abuse. . . The training also encourages conversations among adults regarding child sexual abuse, like asking fellow parents what their closed-door policies are when their child’s friends are over," Carlson reports. "Normalizing those conversations is a key way adults can decrease child sexual abuse, which is usually caused by someone the child already knows, not a stranger, according to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, the nation's largest anti-sexual violence organization."

Carlson notes, "While Oregon has a law that requires child sexual abuse prevention programs to be taught in public schools, nothing exists for adults, even though the program emphasizes that the duty to protect children from sexual abuse lies with adults, not the child." Ratliff told Carlson, "There are tools for kids, but we want to make sure that we instill that responsibility in adults, too. We have to have these conversations and social norms changes and policy changes because that’s what’s going to protect kids everywhere and all the time.”