Sexual Abuse Victims Advocates Walk for Awareness, Changes to Laws
January 13th, 2012 by flanewsA young woman who was abused by her family’s nanny for six years will begin a fifteen hundred mile walk across Florida to bring awareness to what she says are needed changes to the law. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, one of the changes being sought is tough financial penalties for public or private universities, like Penn State, which failed to report suspected abuse.
There are questions being raised over whether the Child Abuse Hot line in Florida would accept a call alleging Penn State University type of abuse at a Florida school. Experts say since the perpetrator isn’t a primary care giver, such calls might be referred to local police, depending on how much information is provided by the caller.
“You don’t want to make a person getting assistance to have to make more than one phone call,” Jennifer Dritt with the Florida Council Against Sexual Violence said. “That’s just not helpful practice.”
Lauren Book was abused by her family’s nanny for six years. On Saturday, she will begin her third walk of healing, traveling 1500 miles over 39 days. She is quick to point out research shows most children are ill-trained to know who to fear.
“A stranger is somebody with a knife, a gun, who is robbing them; with a mask one, who is dirty and will hurt them,” Book said. “The reality is, we all know, 90 percent of the time children are abused by someone they know.”
Two bills have been filed in the legislature. Both would penalize public or private universities a million dollars for failing to report the kind of abuse alleged at Penn State by an assistant football coach.
“That’s a hammer,” Lauren’s father Ron Book said. “That sends a message that we’re not going to let a Penn State, s Syracuse, a Citadel circumstance happen here.”
There are an estimated 39 million survivors of sexual abuse.
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