140. Understanding and Preventing Sexual Abuse — Sage Williams and Rebecca Bettilyon

*This discusses the topic of sexual abuse and prevention of sexual abuse. Please use discretion in determining whether or not this is a suitable episode for you or for anyone listening in.* Sexual abuse and sexual violence are shockingly prevalent. In the United States, about 1 in 4 girls, and 1 in 13 boys experience child sexual abuse. In their lifetimes, over half of women and 1 in 3 men will experience sexual violence. And it’s remarkably common for child sexual abuse to go undisclosed for decades: One study showed that the average age at the time of reporting child sex abuse was 52 years old.

As Latter-day Saints, we’re encouraged, to “do everything we can to prevent abuse and to protect and help victims,” Pres. Nelson re-emphasized this in his conference talk last month. we hope this conversation can help us all do that more effectively. 

Our guests are Sage Williams and Rebecca Bettilyon (please listen to the podcast intro to find out more about Rebecca and Sage).

With Sage and Rebecca, we cover issues like the prevalence of abuse, who perpetrators often are, how to recognize abuse, the body's autonomic response system and how we could teach the law of chastity to prevent feelings of shame, and how our communities can be one of the best tools we have in preventing abuse.

All of us recognize that our comments in the conversation today are raw, real, imperfect and incomplete. We’re all still learning how to articulate our thoughts and feelings on these difficult topics in public, and together with Rebecca and Sage, we ask for some grace and understanding of our intent to inspire healing for everyone impacted by sexual abuse.

NOTES:

CDC statistics for adults and childrenPolicy Brief, including average age of disclosing sexual abuse)Shame vs guiltReference to children getting sex education from pornographyConversation prompt to prepare children for an encounter with pornography:Reference for the quote on forgiveness:

Neil L. Andersen, The Divine Gift of Forgiveness, Deseret Book Co., 2019, p. 225. Abuse.churchofjesuschrist.orgLiahona articles on consent, sexual assaultFor the Strength of Youth article on relationship boundaries:Friend article on body safety: The Mama Bear Effect