Breaking the Silence

Silence is powerful. In some instances, it can be more pointed, more evocative, than the most eloquent verse, or the loudest shouts. But there’s one instance when silence is devastating for one side, necessary for the other: instances of sexual abuse of children.

Breaking that silence — giving victims both the courage and the opportunity to share a dark secret they cannot help but keep — is the goal of a recent survey by the Organización Latino Americana of Eastern Long Island. OLA used the confidential bilingual survey to try to shine light into the dark corners where the region’s abusers of children are hiding, attempting to combat the culture of silence in many Spanish-speaking families. It’s not unique to the Latino or Hispanic communities, but a combination of factors, of attitudes toward sexuality and family connections, can create a perfect climate for abuse.

As expected, the survey’s anonymity helped pull back the cover. It will help OLA in working with young victims, and police and court agencies, to make the process more responsible to young people who report crimes, and to make sure there is support in place for them.

Breaking the silence is necessary. Young victims of sexual abuse are more prone to depression and trauma, more likely to adopt self-destructive behaviors. The secrets they carry are caustic — and at times they allow an abuser to continue destroying other young lives.

OLA’s work here is essential, and it goes beyond the survey. The organization will work with the East End’s police departments, and State Police, on policies for reporting and methods of investigating sex assault cases, particularly involving young victims. Those policies will influence the handling of cases well beyond the immigrant community.

It’s fair to say that child sexual abuse exists in a universe of silence: Threatening or shaming a young target of abuse is a way to make them, in a sense, feel like they are part of the crime, which makes reporting it to anyone, whether it be family or the police, a terrifying prospect. The first step is to break the silence, remove that power an abuser has, and give young people something they too often lack: a voice that’s being heard, loud and clear.