Rise in sex abuse cases spurs start of awareness campaign

The number of children under the age of 18 who sought services to deal with sexual abuse during the COVID pandemic increased by 4 percent, according to the Connecticut Alliance to End Sexual Violence.

But it wasn’t only children who were seeking services at a greater rate, the organization said. Statewide service providers saw an overall increase of 9 percent in the number of people seeking help to deal with sexual violence, including child sexual abuse during the 2020-21 fiscal year. The majority — 61 percent — reported child sexual abuse, according to the organization.

To combat the problem, the alliance is staging a CT All In campaign launched to coincide with the start of school to encourage residents to learn the signs of sexual violence and abuse and what to do to help victims in order to stop it.

“The first 12 months of the pandemic reporting was down,” said Beth Hamilton, executive director of the alliance. “Then when schools began opening up and children had access to adults they can trust, reporting went up.”

Sexual violence includes unwanted touching, sexual assault, sexual harassment, unwanted exposure, capturing or viewing videos or images of someone in a private act without their knowledge or permission, sexual exploitation and other acts, including intimate partner sexual assault.

The campaign and awareness initiative funded by a grant from the state Department of Public Health started last week with radio ads. Billboards and social media ads and outreach to schools and health care communities will follow in an effort to educate residents on how to prevent sexual violence and support victims.

“It’s about what we can do in our lives to end this,” said Ruth Bruno, resource and communications coordinator for the alliance. “Things like standing up to folks who make misogynist jokes or direct intervention, when you see something, say something. We all think that staff at a brewery who see a woman who is too drunk and calling for a ride for her is a good intervention, but prevention can go way beyond that.”

The alliance is the umbrella organization for the nine service providers throughout the state that offer counseling, support and legal help for victims of sexual assault and sexual violence. The alliance also advocates for legislative change and works on model policies for law enforcement on how to deal with survivors of sexual violence.

They service more than 8,000 people a year, many of whom are seeking help decades after the abuse occurred.

The average age of when people disclose sexual abuse is 52, said Lucy Nolan, director of policy and public relations for the alliance.

“For many, the chance to use the criminal justice system has expired,” Nolan said, which is why the organization advocates for eliminating the statute of limitations on sexual violence crimes and lawsuits.

But about 50 percent of adult clients don’t want any legal criminal intervention, Hamilton said. Since child sex abuse involves a mandated reporting process, those cases will involve criminal proceedings, she explained.

“Going through the legal system is not an easy process for victims,” Hamilton said. “The barriers can be insurmountable.”

About 27 percent of clients were under the age of 18 in fiscal year 2020-21. That’s compared to 23 percent in the prior fiscal year, according to figures provided by the alliance.

The new CT All In website includes recommendations on prevention and providing support, including teaching children consent and “no” and “stop” are important words. State residents can also find information on how to attend prevention training and the website includes ways to support survivors of sexual violence.

“People are still afraid to discuss unwanted sexual experiences,” Nolan said. “We want to open it up and make it something we feel comfortable talking about. We won’t be able to end sexual violence until people know and understand and want to do something about it.”