Jackson's troubling trial
The rush of lurid details early in Michael Jackson's trial on charges of molesting a boy have surprised observers. Psychologist Joyanna Silberg, executive vice president of the Leadership Council on Child Abuse and Interpersonal Violence, puts the case in the context of a crime affecting at least 80,000 U.S. children a year. At leadershipcouncil.org, her group posts a Michael Jackson Trial Blog.
There are an awful lot of claims and counterclaims.
In reality, studies show that the purposeful fabrication of child sexual abuse allegations is rare. Attacking the credibility of the parent of the child making the abuse claim is a well-known defense strategy. So is pointing out inconsistencies in a child's testimony.
That raises questions.
There are multiple reasons children may be inconsistent. Because they are still developing, their expressions and figures of speech can be vague, and they don't have good recall for the sequence of events as adults do. And children have mixed feelings about protecting powerful people who may have hurt them; they may say one thing, then recant.
It's creepy thinking any adult could be capable of this.
It can be hard to accept something so negative about someone you have respected, even idolized. It makes you question your sense of safety: If you can't trust your judgment, what can you trust? But you cannot tell who will be an abuser by appearance.
Do you think he did it?
The jury will decide guilt or innocence. Either way, the trial is a fabulous educational opportunity to talk to our children about body boundaries and their right to be in charge of who touches them.
The topic makes some parents uneasy.
There's nothing wrong with saying you don't let adults touch your private parts and you don't touch theirs. There's no age you can't say that to. If you haven't had that talk, here's your chance. -Diane Cole
This story appears in the March 21, 2005 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.
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