GOD SAVE THE WOMEN & CHILDREN

An old Cheyenne Indian saying goes, "A nation is not dead until the hearts of its women are on the ground." I believe America is slowly dying as multitudes of women and children have had their hearts and spirits crushed, dashed to the ground by sexual abuse. The number of women and child victims of sexual assault in the United States is overwhelming: According to the statistics of RAINN (the largest U.S. anti-assault organization) every 107 seconds an American age 12 or older is sexually assaulted, which if you are doing your math, come to 17.7 million women a year. As for children, one in every four girls will be a victim of sexual abuse.

In addition to these alarming statistics, the prosecution of sexual crime reflects a dismal picture. Often, the victim of a rape find herself being the accused one, questioned about her sexual behavior, which is partially why 68% of rape cases are never reported to police. Of the cases that are reported and the perpetrator arrested, 98% of rapists never spend a day in jail.

I wonder what happened to good, old-fashioned chivalry where women and children go in the boats first. Not only in our country but all over the world women and children are being devalued, relegated to second class citizenship or worse, due to rampant physical and sexual abuse. Child sexual abuse has come to the forefront in recent years by the scandal of Catholic priests accused of pedophile behavior. More recently, Great Britain's Prince Andrew was accused of having sex with an under-age sex slave. Add to this the viewing of child pornography on the internet which has become a major addiction.

Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. addressed the issue of child pornography at his 2011 address in San Jose, California, stating, "Unfortunately, we've seen a historic rise in the distribution of child pornography, in the number of images being shared online, and in the level of violence associated with child exploitation and sexual abuse crimes." As mentioned in my book, "Stepping Outside the Secrets," this struck close to home when I discovered that my next door neighbor's computer was filled with disgusting child pornography. I reported it to the police but they did nothing about it telling me they were after the "bigger fish," those individuals who were creating the pornographic websites.

At one period of my life I spent a great deal of time with traditional Native American families and was impressed with how much respect they showed toward their children and elders. They had their priorities straight. When a nation loses its moral compass by objectifying and sexualizing its women and children, things "go south." It is time to speak out against these atrocities and take a stand. One by one we can light a candle and stand on the side of justice and moral integrity. And, we can pray: God save the women, children and nation!