Feb 4, 2011
Press Release – “Magen” Child Abuse Awareness Event
Press Release – “Magen” Child Abuse Awareness Event
Sunday, January 16. 8:15 PM, Genesis Center, Beit Shemesh
The newly formed Magen organization has had its first child abuse awareness conference.
Magen is filling the need for services in the area of education, prevention and treatment of child
abuse; judging from the head-count at the Magen event, there is a large interest in these services.
Despite being on a school night, the limited advertising, and that fact that Magen is a new
organization, the conference was attended by over two hundred people, the vast majority of
whom stayed late into the night to hear all the presentations.
The audience consisted of parents, who gathered together to hear the well-rounded program:
Rabbi David Spektor, Chief Rabbi of Givat Sharett gave introductory Words of Torah, as well as
his personal praise and encouragement for the new Magen initiative.
Dr. David Pelcovitz, the renowned psychologist, speaker and author, delivered a powerful and
informative lecture, which was directed towards parents, giving practical advice on prevention
and identification of child sexual abuse.
Two survivors of sexual abuse, now adults, gave gripping testimonies of their horrific
experiences; in both cases, their abusers are still at large. Magen decided that the evening was
an opportunity for them to express their painful personal experiences, a necessary step in their
recovery and healing. While some of the content expressed their own personal dissatisfaction
with how their abuse was handled, it gave the audience a chance to see that there is much work
to be done by us as a Jewish nation. The understanding of the repercussions and damage caused
by child abuse, and the anger by of those abused, who felt unprotected, should be a lesson to us
all not to be complacent. No-one should believe they know everything about abuse. The study of
abuse is fairly new, and up to as recently as the 1980’s the phenomenon was little understood or
known about, even in society in general.
The evening featured an art exhibit by an abuse survivor from her art-therapy work. A take-home
fact sheet was also distributed.
This program was therefore a platform to guide concerned parents how to communicate
awareness with our children to help prevent and detect molestation issues. It offered hope and
direction for those who intervene quickly after learning of abuse. It conveyed firsthand accounts
of how improper handling of the crisis of child sexual abuse, or turning a blind eye, can lead to a
lifetime of struggle for the survivors. The evening also offered an opportunity for survivors to be
heard.
Magen’s staff achieves this holistic approach by being staffed with a board and advisers who
are licensed social workers, trained crisis counselors, survivors, rabbis, experts in community
organization, and ordinary concerned citizens who are trying to bridge the chasm between Jewish
survivors of sexual abuse and their families, and the support they desperately need, especially for
concerned religious victims who are not sure to whom to go and need discreet and effective help
under Halachic guidelines.
It was a difficult topic, but attendees left energized and feeling empowered, comforted in
their knowledge that now these kinds of issues are being taken seriously by large numbers of
people, and that there are institutions and individuals which are working in a professional and
compassionate way, to improve how child abuse is handled in the Jewish community.
“Magen” is the new Child Protection organization of Bet Shemesh.
Magen can be confidentially contacted at magenprotects@gmail.com
Tel: 02 9997026; 050 8489001.
Sunday, January 16. 8:15 PM, Genesis Center, Beit Shemesh
The newly formed Magen organization has had its first child abuse awareness conference.Magen is filling the need for services in the area of education, prevention and treatment of child
abuse; judging from the head-count at the Magen event, there is a large interest in these services.
Despite being on a school night, the limited advertising, and that fact that Magen is a new
organization, the conference was attended by over two hundred people, the vast majority of
whom stayed late into the night to hear all the presentations.
The audience consisted of parents, who gathered together to hear the well-rounded program:
Rabbi David Spektor, Chief Rabbi of Givat Sharett gave introductory Words of Torah, as well as
his personal praise and encouragement for the new Magen initiative.
Dr. David Pelcovitz, the renowned psychologist, speaker and author, delivered a powerful and
informative lecture, which was directed towards parents, giving practical advice on prevention
and identification of child sexual abuse.
Two survivors of sexual abuse, now adults, gave gripping testimonies of their horrific
experiences; in both cases, their abusers are still at large. Magen decided that the evening was
an opportunity for them to express their painful personal experiences, a necessary step in their
recovery and healing. While some of the content expressed their own personal dissatisfactionwith how their abuse was handled, it gave the audience a chance to see that there is much work
to be done by us as a Jewish nation. The understanding of the repercussions and damage caused
by child abuse, and the anger by of those abused, who felt unprotected, should be a lesson to us
all not to be complacent. No-one should believe they know everything about abuse. The study of
abuse is fairly new, and up to as recently as the 1980’s the phenomenon was little understood or
known about, even in society in general.
The evening featured an art exhibit by an abuse survivor from her art-therapy work. A take-home
fact sheet was also distributed.
This program was therefore a platform to guide concerned parents how to communicate
awareness with our children to help prevent and detect molestation issues. It offered hope and
direction for those who intervene quickly after learning of abuse. It conveyed firsthand accounts
of how improper handling of the crisis of child sexual abuse, or turning a blind eye, can lead to a
lifetime of struggle for the survivors. The evening also offered an opportunity for survivors to be
heard.
Magen’s staff achieves this holistic approach by being staffed with a board and advisers whoare licensed social workers, trained crisis counselors, survivors, rabbis, experts in community
organization, and ordinary concerned citizens who are trying to bridge the chasm between Jewish
survivors of sexual abuse and their families, and the support they desperately need, especially for
concerned religious victims who are not sure to whom to go and need discreet and effective help
under Halachic guidelines.
It was a difficult topic, but attendees left energized and feeling empowered, comforted in
their knowledge that now these kinds of issues are being taken seriously by large numbers of
people, and that there are institutions and individuals which are working in a professional and
compassionate way, to improve how child abuse is handled in the Jewish community.
“Magen” is the new Child Protection organization of Bet Shemesh.
Magen can be confidentially contacted at magenprotects@gmail.com
Tel: 02 9997026; 050 8489001.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Related Posts
"but attendees left energized and feeling empowered, comforted in
ReplyDeletetheir knowledge that now these kinds of issues are being taken seriously by large numbers of
people"
Yes they left energized and then returned to their rabbonim who quickly flattened their bubble of energy.
In the end the rabbonim rule the roost and this will go no where.
I give David Morris credit for trying but he just doesn't realize that there are many people out there who won't oppose their rav even for child protection.
The people who actually care about child safety didn't need this evening and the people who care more about what their rabbi says won't be influenced by Magen for very long.
You know, it's one thing to disagree on what is the right way to deal with an issue, but to publicly demonize a person with an opposing view, especially a rav, and to speak about him the way some of you do is disgusting and assur on so many levels. The way some of these comments have taken pot-shots, even in other posts not related to the topic, is downright wrong. This goes beyond the issue itself now. I'm not referring specifically to Michael's post above which was relatively tame.
ReplyDeleteRafi, you say keep it clean. Well that didn't happen. I think you should be more diligent in using your prerogative in removing inappropriate comments, which in the last week would be most of them. You want to do your investigative journalism - fine. You want to invite people to comment - maybe fine, but to allow this kind of venom I think is beneath you, and I hope not what you intended.
Rafi has done a responsible (and unique) job of allowing genuine problems and grievances in our community to be expressed, while keeping the discussions within the bounds of civil debate and halacha.
ReplyDeleteIn a society that Anon would be the censor, the establishment would have plenty of quiet (true), but one day find it all blow up in their faces.
Rafi - keep up the great work for RBS.
Anon
ReplyDeletePerhaps said "rav" has set the tone by calling David Morris a rasha and jackass in public, in a shul in front of an aron kodesh.
He has pushed his agenda by banning the organization he thinks his baal plugta runs.
He has set a bad example of how to disagree like a gentleman (and certainly a rav)
I'm actually unclear whether the Rabbi Malinowitz vs. Lemann Achai conflict is over the publicity of the past or a policy difference that has been discussed going forward. Seems to me there was some inappropriate publicity flying from both sides when the community had its first incidents (with teachers), and since then there was just no reconciliation.
ReplyDeleteAlso I would think people only turn to a Rav they feel they could be open with about such a situation, which means many would be more comfortable quietly go to Magen - no one should need it.
We didn't have Magen in the past, families had to choose between going to (potentially secular) authorities or getting support from their own religious network.
And I think it was very smart that Lemaan Achai stopped its original effort to create this project as part of its organization and instead let organizers set it up separately. That sidesteps the never-reconciled-but-long-irrelevant debate whether the defunct-school's incident should have been handled differently and lets people operate better for the future.
I remember how Dov Hikind was so outspoken on this issue - in Brooklyn, created something with a psychologist to deal with the issue. Then there were accusations, threats, noise, quiet, and now haven't heard anything. I wish the concerned people of B.S. Accomplish in this area. I just don't know why Rabbis aren't more outspoken and why they are more protective of the abuser than the victim? what are the halachos involved? Common sense is totally against abuse! Is this something so ingrained historically?
ReplyDeleteI'm sure this was dealt with more effectively in "the shtetl."
ReplyDeleteThen and now, the Rabbis that are accused of "obstructing" really do so because they don't trust the secular government with a criminal case against a Jew. But in the olden days I'm sure there were some good ol' Jewish thugs that could "take care" of the problems.
Somehow we've rewritten our psychological history so that now a good Jew is a passive Jew - and if we're going to be passive then we need the secular authorities to step in.
The idea that "this this was dealt with more effectively in "the shtetl", is utter nonsense.
ReplyDeleteThe child abuse/molestation problem was only recognized, in a meaningful scientific sense, in the latter part of the 20th Century.
Prior to that it was either "biah" or nothing had happened. "No penetration, no molestation".
Yes - some rabbonim (and their communities) in RBS are woefully behind the times, but only by a few decades.