Aaron Fisher, known as “Victim 1” in the trial, is speaking out and volunteering to put his name and face to the anonymous victims of a sexual predator.
In Aaron’s case, he asked for help from his principal (among others), whom Aaron says did nothing at first, simply urging Aaron’s mom to “think about it” after Aaron reported the abuse he’d endured for years.
Aaron’s story is just another tragic example of how important it is for adults to be a trustworthy source of support for the kids in their lives, and to advocate for them.
Aaron is an incredibly brave young man to have been the first victim and the beginning of an investigation that finally landed Jerry Sandusky in prison for life. Hopefully we can learn from his experience and create a system that supports victims of abuse, so we never again make a child feel like he will not be believed if he tells the truth about his abuse.
Yes, it’s easier to just tell the victims to be quiet…to get the abusers in trouble means toppling the current power structure…firing the supervisors, the adult mentors, the schoolteachers who abuse their authority over children…it’s like turning the power structure upside down…
From my experience, most adult wants to have nothing to do with this kind of stuff. I had been bullied in school ones and I tell my teachers about it. They actually did nothing and even blame me for it. I told my parents and they just tell me to stop being ‘gay’ and face it myself. An adult maybe is the least helpful in many cases. What I find helpful, in a way, is my fellow classmates. They empathize with my situation even if they can’t do anything about it. Still, they did more that the adults, including my… Read more »
A very brave young man to be sure. Sexual abuse is still so taboo in terms of being able to talk about it, especially for men (I don’t think it is near as taboo for women to talk about it).
Both sexes deal with too many taboos. One of my friends who was raped in college said the first thing the police asked was ‘what were you wearing?’ The police blamed her and laughed at her. Her experience reporting to the police was so bad that she didn’t tell people who love her what happened for years. Aaron Fisher is a good example for everyone, men and women. Both sexes deserve to be believed and supported when they disclose to adults or people with the authority to help. I agree that women are more likely to disclose to friends/family than… Read more »