More brave and powerful testimonies
"A doctor cared for generations of families. Now dozens of women say he also abused them" (CNN Today)
I just picked up the phone to hear sniffles indicating tears from a dear friend. A male friend. I’ve know him for over 33 years. He was there when Paperdolls was first released in 1992. He knows the truth of the dominant, evil, abuses rampant in our society. He is not in denial. Yet, when he watched this story on CNN today, he wept.
He wept because it’s been over 30 years, and it doesn’t seem like much has happened to help alleviate the predominance of childhood sexual abuse. He wept because many in the LDS Church are still in denial and intentionally covering up perpetrators abhorrent actions.
Granted, sometimes it’s unintentional, but come on, it’s been over 30 years since Paperdolls: Healing from Sexual Abuse in Morning Neighborhoods was published. As I said back then, “Perpetrators will seek cover under any system with access to children.” In the decades since Paperdolls was published I’ve added prominent examples, including the Boy Scouts, the Catholic Church, prominent universities such as Penn State, and yes, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, frequently known as the Mormons.
My primary purpose for re-releasing Paperdolls & Cowboy Boots1 is for the survivors. Those who have been ignored or worse blamed2 for the abuse inflicted upon them as children.
However, for those who are still in denial or in the cave of ignorance about the reality of the rampant occurrences of child abuse in your neighborhood, please read this article — and watch the video— published today by CNN.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/15/us/oregon-doctor-survivors-abuse-claims/index.html
My dear friend asked today what my co-author would think of this national story about a prominent man, sheltered in his LDS Community, who allegedly abused over 100 victims. Knowing her the way I did, I am guessing that Carol might be somewhat relieved that finally 32 years after Paperdolls was first released the LDS Church couldn’t squash this story. However, I bet my co-author would be enraged that this even happened to another prominent community.
The story reported by CNN today, is erringly similar to her story and what happened to her grandchildren and children in the elite neighborhood in the suburbs on Salt Lake in 1986.
It seems like history is tragically repeating itself: In Carol’s portion of Paperdolls & Cowboy Boots, the Church did nothing because of a flimsy excuse3, the police did nothing, and finally in 2018,4 the statue of limitations was magically altered and the victims/survivors in her portion of the book couldn’t even sue in a civil lawsuit5. At least in this story from CNN, the victims are pursuing the matter in a civil court.
With all that said, to my beloved survivors, if you are in a good place, please read and watch the CNN story here:
If you don’t need yet another confirmation of the horrors of childhood sexual abuse and the decades long same old same old story of denial, cover-up, and DARVO, please just know, there’s yet another story. And, please continue your own healing work. If you are stuck, drop me a note. If you need immediate help, contact:
National Sexual Assault Hotline:1-800-656-4673
Available 24/7 and through online chat tool
Provided by RAINN, (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network)
Remember, we’ve partnered with SAPREA to provide free support to women survivors of sexual assault. We are working on getting the avenues for men survivors in place. Here is a list of resources offered by our partner, SAPREA:
This is called DARVO. For any new subscribers or those who haven’t read prior posts or those who haven’t absorbed the fact that victims are commonly blamed for their abuse, here is a list of a few of the time’s I’ve talked about DARVO in the last year:
https://www.paperdolls.today/p/let-us-dedicate-ourselves-to-tame
https://www.paperdolls.today/p/memberssubscribers-order-now
https://www.paperdolls.today/p/support-groups
https://www.paperdolls.today/p/privacy-and-anonymity
https://www.paperdolls.today/p/the-elephant-in-the-room
https://www.paperdolls.today/p/has-anyone-ever-written-anything
The Stake President in Carol’s portion of the book, told me that he didn’t want to have a Church Court for any of the named perpetrators, because he didn’t want to expose the Church to the liability. Although one was convicted and spent years in prison. Read more about my reaction to this in Paperdolls & Cowboy Boots.
David Hardy, an attorney who knows the ins and outs of all this legal mumbo jumbo will explain how this happened in the upcoming podcast.