The Attendee Perspective

Peter Pollard (at right), training and outreach director at 1in6, an organization that provides support for men who have been sexually abused, wrote a blog post about his impressions as an attendee of Penn State’s Child Sexual Abuse Conference. Below is an excerpt from the post, which was part of 1in6’s Thursday series at joyfulheartfoundation.org, a nonprofit group founded by actress Mariska Hargitay that is

dedicated to helping sexual-abuse survivors “heal and reclaim their lives.”

As a visitor to State College Pennsylvania last week, I was deeply moved by both the awareness of their tragedy and their determination to heal. The community showed a dogged commitment to squarely face and to nurture a path to recovery from the chaos that’s surfaced since the arrest a year ago of former Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky on multiple charges of sexual abuse. …

As an outsider, the lessons were rich and the insights humbling. What struck me most deeply were the similarities in experience I heard again and again from members of the Penn State community and the pain I witnessed during my 15 years as a child-protection social worker within families where children were sexually abused.

Widespread misconceptions about the dynamics of sexual abuse seem to inevitably lead to self-righteous critiques from outsiders against anyone even remotely involved with the abusive person. Often, efforts to take corrective steps aren’t seen as genuine. Even the brutal self criticism of those who failed to protect an injured child — which sometimes can be even harsher than the external judgments — do little to calm the rage and disdain from those of us standing on the sidelines.

I heard stories over lunch from Penn State staff members who’d never even met Jerry Sandusky who were subjected to repeated tirades, insults, and threats because of their connection to the institution. They were deemed guilty by association, casualties of “us and them” thinking. …

Here was the Penn State community working to identify and to understand its failings and to take responsibility for the harm that individuals experienced. As one who believes in firm accountability for actions or inactions that hurt children, I’m not easily snowed. I was impressed during my two days in State College with the Penn State community’s promise to acknowledge and learn from its mistakes and to share those lessons with others who are in a position to prevent further harm and move toward healing.

Read Peter Pollard’s full blog post, “Two Days in the Storm,” at convn.org/1in6-pollard.

about 80 cancellations and no-shows among attendees, along with two speakers who weren’t able to make it, but planners were able to compensate by allowing walk-up registrants and extending the time of certain sessions.

SO, WHY A CONFERENCE? One of the biggest questions looming over CSAC as it got under way was why Penn State decided that a major confer- ence was the best way to deal with the topic of child sexual abuse. The answer had to do with a desire to provide com- prehensive information, education, and support — and a realization that there may be no better way of doing that than by convening a gathering of the people most affected. “I think you have to get people talking about child sexual abuse,” Driftmier said. “So we provided a foundation in the basics. … We also haven’t as a society made it easy for people to talk about this, but we’re not going to change what’s happening if we avoid it.” Both Driftmier and Staley found the response to CSAC to

be overwhelmingly positive. With attendee representation from more than 30 states ranging from survivors of child sex- ual abuse to educators and legislators, there were a number of different interests to cater to. “I think some came in a little bit cynical,” Driftmier said. “They walked away, judging from the comments and the hugs I received, with a really strong sense that Penn State had a commitment to making a differ- ence — and that this conference was a venue to bring the right people together in order to start the conversations that need to take place.” Both researchers and practitioners in the field told Staley

during and after CSAC that the combination of academic presentations and personal survivor stories, along with the fact that the event brought together members of both the professional and local communities, created a valuable expe- rience. And on a practical level, many attendees who work in the area of child sexual abuse met people that they could collaborate with in the future. “It exceeded even my hopes for what it could achieve,” said Staley, who described being a part of the event as “a privilege.” She added: “I felt like it had such meaning. When you pair a good program and good speakers with something that has great meaning, you really can make a big difference.”

. Katie Kervin is an assistant editor of Convene. +

ON THE WEB For more information about the Child Sexual Abuse Conference — including archived conference footage — visit protectchildren.psu.edu.

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