NOW! News
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Spring 2001, Vol. 9, No. 1
Policy Speech Reaches Key Audience
Recently, Fran Henry delivered the speech that opened the Second
National Summit: Promoting Public Safety through Sexual Assault
Prevention and Sex Offender Management. Sponsored by the U.S.
Department of Justice and coordinated by the Center for Sex Offender
Management, the December 2000 summit was an invitation-only gathering
of many of the top sexual assault professionals in the country.
Attendees represented a wide range of perspectives, opinions, and
occupations; on hand were judges, defense attorneys, prosecutors,
parole and probation officials, victim advocates, officials from the
Justice Department and from the Department of Health and Human
Services, law enforcement personnel, researchers, and treatment
providers. The purpose of the summit was to develop recommendations
for the federal government on how sex offenders should be managed in
communities across the United States. The meeting was a follow-up to a
similar summit four years ago. This year’s summit added the crucial
theme of preventing sexual assault.
STOP IT NOW! is honored to have had the opportunity to open and set
the tone for such a critical meeting. Much of our work involves
bringing together individuals or groups with often disparate opinions,
whether on our advisory committees in local STOP IT NOW! sites or in
our "speak-outs" between survivors of child sexual abuse and
recovering sex offenders. We frequently hear that these forums are
powerful experiences for audience members, who get an opportunity to
stretch their thinking about child sexual abuse and its solution. The
Second National Summit gave us an opportunity to have a similar impact
on key policymakers in the field of sexual assault. Fran spoke of her
experience as a survivor and her work as founder of STOP IT NOW!. Her
speech drew not only a standing ovation and several minutes of
heartfelt applause, but also an outpouring of comments that
demonstrated a shift in thinking for many of the summit’s
participants. Many participants commented that Fran’s speech helped
them gain a public health understanding of the problem of child sexual
abuse, and it helped them recognize the importance of using public
health strategies to prevent abuse before it occurs.
In her speech, "The Impact of Sexual Abuse and Its
Implications for Our Work," Fran presented ideas drawn from STOP
IT NOW!s work and from her forthcoming book Dangerous Journey, Safe
Passage: The Sexual Abuse of Children and Its Remedy. (Fran is
currently seeking a publisher for this work.) She spoke about the fact
that most children are abused by someone they know. Fran spoke
powerfully to her colleagues of her own story of abuse by her father.
She talked about the many reasons she did not disclose the abuse at
the time and explained how most children do not or cannot disclose or
report their sexual abuse.
As a program for action, Fran advocated for early prevention using
the public health model and system, the wise use of criminal justice
and child protection systems, and the adoption of a personal value of
sexual integrity, which she defines as the ability to live a vital,
healthy sexual life that does no harm.
To read the full text of Fran’s speech click
here.
-- Ellen Carey
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