Pope Francis Accuses Chile Sex Abuse Victims of Slander

"SANTIAGO, Chile -- Pope Francis accused victims of Chile's most notorious pedophile of slander Thursday, an astonishing end to a visit meant to help heal the wounds of a sex abuse scandal that has cost the Catholic Church its credibility in the country. Francis said that until he sees proof that Bishop Juan Barros was complicit in covering up the sex crimes of the Rev. Fernando Karadima, such accusations against Barros are "all calumny." -CBSnews.com

Today's headline about the Pope accusing victims of sexual abuse as slanderous is nothing new. It's the norm. And people wonder why the "Me, too" has emerged as a powerful forum on sexual harassment and abuse. It is because victims are fearful they won't be believed, feel ashamed, and know the power of retribution. They suffer in silence hiding their 'dirty secrets'. Why? Because the predator skillfully knows how to manipulate the story line. Predators know how induce fear so the victim believes she will:
-be portrayed as seductive, crazy, or 'asking for it', or making it up; 
-worry the her perpetrator is powerful enough to appear as a wrongfully accused pillar of the community (with supporters who denounce the her with disparaging verbal assaults); 
-be terrorized because there are verbal, emotional, social, and physical threats made by the perpetrator. 
-regret the publicity, have old wounds reopened, and face a barrage of criticism why she waited so long to acknowledge the abuse.

Why would anyone want to go through this? The conspiracy of silence,  supported by a climate of denial, is preferable to the trauma of public disclosure. 

Sexual abuse is more common than one can imagine. You'd be hard pressed to find a woman who hasn't personally known a friend, relative, or some other woman who hasn't silently swallowed being sexually victimized. After years of covering up their shame, a number of my female friends shared their abuse stories with me. They felt they had to 'tell someone'-they needed to know someone believed them. Because women tend to share close bonds, we know it is rare that w woman would make up a secret like this, hide it for years, and then only divulge this on condition it will not be repeated. We have seen how some of our fellow females have struggled with past sexual abuse. Even when there is a good set of coping mechanisms, dealing with being sexually violated takes time to heal and some never escape the issues that emerge when trauma goes unresolved. 

Even after years or decades of secrecy, women who have been sexually abused are afraid of their abuse being revealed because of enduring the painful consequences of retelling what happened. They suffer PTSD symptoms having to relive the abuse, risk humiliation at having their credibility impeached, and by impugning the predator's reputation they are told their experiences are just 'false memories'. I have heard it all. 

Pope Francis, as you protect those complicit in knowing and protecting those who perpetrated this horrific sexual abuse under your religious authority, you are equally as guilty in propagating the sexual exploitation of children. The conspiracy of silence ends here.