There are forms of sexual abuse that are harder for us to recognize than others. This is not necessarily because they are more concealed, but because they contradict the image we hold of abuse and of the perpetrator. For this reason, it is no coincidence that when a victim speaks out, they are not believed two times out of three.

An adolescent can be the perpetrator of sexual abuse. A woman can commit sexual abuse. An adult considered trustworthy, and integrated into a religious community, can exploit that position of trust to commit abuse. Furthermore, a child can become a victim even through a screen, without the abusive adult ever having made physical contact with them. These realities have driven the work of CISMAI in Milan during the third leg of the traveling congress titled «Transforming Crises into Resources: Child Protection Facing the Challenge of Change» — the final event of which will take place in Rome on November 20.

The Milan session did not aim to compile a catalog of new forms of abuse, but rather to pose an uncomfortable question: «What is it that we still fail to see?» This question is linked to another blind spot, perhaps even harder to acknowledge: that even those charged with protection can make mistakes. How, then, can we build a protection system capable not only of intervening but also of continuously questioning itself?

The Abuse Many Refuse to See: Why Are Two Out of Three Victims Not Believed? | ZENIT - English