A very public war of words between film director Woody Allen and his estranged adopted daughter amid allegations of childhood sexual abuse is gaining worldwide attention. However, advocates against child abuse said regardless of what the truth is in this particular situation, the public interest in this case is an opportunity for the public at large to look at sexual abuse and take steps to prevent it.
While the allegations regarding Allen first surfaced in the early '90s, the controversy re-erupted earlier this year when Dylan Farrow, the adult daughter of Allen and actress Mia Farrow, wrote an open letter that was published in the New York Times on Feb. 1 alleging Allen abused her when she was 7 years old. Allen fired back in an open letter of his own this past weekend, claiming memories of abuse were implanted in Dylan after his relationship with Mia Farrow soured.
Regardless of whom people believe in this case, Kathleen Russell, of the Center for Judicial Excellence, said people all should be paying attention to the issue of child sexual abuse.
“What Dylan is experiencing right now from her adoptive father is exactly what millions of people in America, children who are child sex abuse survivors, have to deal with. And they obviously don’t have the celebrity that gets the kind of attention that this situation has gotten,” said Russell.
Joyanna Silberg, a psychologist at Sheppard Pratt Health System, said many studies suggest that one in four girls and one in six boys have experienced some form of sexual abuse.
“The most common place for (a) sexual abuse event to happen is in the privacy of your own home with a (family member),” she said, adding that the pressure to cover up these incidents is significant for all parties involved -- pressure that stems from either the victim’s loyalty to the family or society's loyalty to parents as custodians of children.
Regarding the Allen/Farrow allegations, Silberg said the case seems to be following a very typical pattern.
“Of course, there’s no way to know exactly what happened -- only the two of them have been there -- but the dynamics are such that if you know these cases, it follows a pattern that people who are expert on this issue have seen multiple times,” she said.