The image on the screen was of the Supreme Court ruling in favor of gay marriage. Is an image of a happy couple- straight or homosexual- a promulgation of child abuse? That is what one Christian radio host would have us believe. Host Bryan Fischer remarked upon the most recent cover of The New Yorker […]
As children, we were told about stranger = danger. This could not be further from the truth. Ken West writes a sobering account of real statistics of sexual abuse. Some of the highlights are: 60% of Sexual Abuse Survivors knew their Abuser. 30% of Sexual Abusers are family members. Only 10% of Sexual Abusers know […]
Victims need a voice, no matter how long ago their trauma occurred. Myself, along with Mary R. Williams fought long and hard for the passage of SB108 in 1991. We were able to get the California statutes of limitation in the civil code changed so adults could seek justice for what happened to them as […]
I was recently interviewed by The Child Custody Guide: The complete interview can be found here: Interview: Child molesting as subject with Commentator and attorney Shari Karney of Santa Monica, California
In response to this article in the New York Times on Sexual Abuse: It takes such tremendous courage and strength to come forward and speak the truth of past abuse, especially after years of hiding it. How can the general population then turn around and say that its strange that it took the ‘accusers’ so […]
The first step is to speak out, speak up, speak together in unity with other survivors. As survivors of sexual abuse we’re good at hiding; hiding feelings, hiding our pasts, hiding what happened to us. But we don’t need to hide any longer. It’s time we stand together, speak out and be heard. We need […]
06
Mar
Mar
“I was a shy kid,” he has said, “and now I’m this powerful guy with a boner, dominating all these girls.”
This “powerful guy with a boner” should be sued for his actions and so should all the brands that knew what he was doing but turned a blind eye because the end justified the means. They got the prize cover photo they needed and the victims, well, oh-well.
07
Sep
Sep
Panel for Vatican Accountability Protocols is a successful move for the Vatican. But not so much for children. For children’s safety, this is another setback … because it will help foster the false impression of reform and will lead to more complacency. Does the church hierarchy really need a panel on the protection of minors? […]
20
Aug
Aug
It is given that there is a look to the model, especially the model of clothes. One maxim for this kind of look is that the model shows the clothes, not that the clothes show the model. But in this Paris Vogue, the ten year old girls in these photos are young and beautiful–very young. Young and skinny, but of course. Yet the note for them as the model as object of fashion perfection is not what they wear, but how they look: beautiful, sexy, and hot. To your way of thinking is this a means of exploiting children for the purposes of a kind of prurient delight and to sell magazines?
Shari Karney: Like the adage, You can never be too young, too thin, or too rich. But Kids apparently, in the fashion business you can never be too young. The sexploitation of children to sell clothes, fashion and perfume, leads to a viewing of children as objects of sexual desire. It dehumanizes children. It takes away the idea of a child being innocent. Predators do not see children as innocent, and often blame the child for the sexual abuse. And makes children potential victims of child sexual abuse. Little girls in erotic pose and dress makes even adult males excited, so studies indicate. French Vogue using little girls as adults crosses the line and appeals to the potential predator in many males.
Sexual Abuse, Shari Karney's Opinion
Olympic swimming & their coaches: Sometimes sexual predators–Shari Karney Speaks Out
15
Aug
Aug
We need to use the proper language: Calling this a relationship implies it is between consenting adults. You don’t have a consenting relationship between a 13-year old swimmer and a 33 year old Olympic coach. This is another Sandusky coach-predator action except this one is taking place in the swimming pool instead of the shower. Again, a coach preys on a child athlete. The 13-year old is an Olympic Swimmer named Kelley Davies Currin. She is now 43-years old. She stifled this for 23 years because she signed a piece of paper when she was nineteen.
In my opinion where a coach sexually molests a 13-year old girl for four years, and is around pre-pubescent girls in bathing suits all the time…it is likely there are going to be other victims. I find it highly unlikely that Kelley is the only one. With Sandusky, after the first boy came forward, nine other child victims followed and told their harrowing stories.
I would like to support swimmers, children and child athletes to give them the strength to come forward and speak out. I am asking for an investigation by U.S. Olympics Committee and FBI and lets hope that Louis Freeh does a report. The FBI needs to investigate since adult predators cross State lines with their child/teen Olympic Contenders, and even cross to foreign countries.