Sir, – The judge said it was impossible to believe that events of such significance in the lives of these women had not been the subject of conversation (Home News, December 1st). It sounds like a report from 20-30 years ago.
Have we learned nothing in this country about the nature of sexual abuse and the burden of secrecy that many carry for years and years, some to their graves; despite all the inquiries and all the media coverage of the countless number of people who have kept their secret hidden?
Sexual abuse is not something one discusses in conversation over coffee, at least not one's own experience. Even the courts in this country are not unfamiliar with the scenario of children being sexually abused in a school setting where others witnessed such abuse and yet never a word was said among the children or indeed later among them as adults. See the Child Abuse Commission's reports, childabusecommission.ie/publications/index.html.
We have the SAVI large scale study published in 2002 showing that of those who said they had experienced some form of sexual assault before the age of 17, 47 per cent had not told anyone before the study.
In my own clinical and research work, the issue of not being believed has plagued many of the people I have met, both children and adults. My PhD on the subject of how children and adults tell of their experiences of childhood sexual abuse is also at arrow.dit.ie/aaschsslcon/2/ for interested readers. – Yours, etc,