NYC child sex abuse prosecutor writes book
Jill Starishevsky, a prosecutor with the Bronx District Attorney’s office, poses on the steps of the Bronx Supreme court in New York Wednesday, June 23, 2008. Starishevsky has written a children’s book, titled “My Body,” to help parents and kids deal with sexual abuse.
Prosecutor Jill Starishevsky was working on the case of a little girl who had been consistently raped by her stepfather when she got the idea on how she could help families prevent such horrific acts.
The girl, from a middle-class home in the Bronx, was molested starting at age 6, and like most children, she didn’t tell anyone. Then she watched an episode of “The Oprah Winfrey Show” that happened to be on children who were beaten. The message at the end of the show was simple: If you’re being abused, tell a parent of a teacher.
Something clicked for girl, who by then was 9 years old and had endured repeated rapes for three years. She told her teacher the next day.
The case highlighted an acute problem: Children don’t know they should speak up, because the topic of child sex abuse just isn’t discussed.
“I thought, either Oprah needs to end every show with ‘If you’re being hurt you need to tell someone,’ or someone needs to do something,” Starishevsky said. “All Oprah had to do was say ‘tell a teacher,’ and this horrible abuse stopped.”
(No Ratings Yet)
Loading ...
Email This Post