In my home state of Missouri, a
legislator is seeking to eliminate the
statute of limitations for victims of
childhood sexual abuse who want to file
civil suits. Right now, the law gives abuse
survivors up to the age of 31 to sue their
abusers. The law flies in the face of
research, which says that survivors don’t
come forward with their abuse until well
into their 50s.
Recently, that hopeful but
frustrated senator introduced the
legislation for a second time. He lashed
out: “If we don’t do something ... Missouri
becomes a sanctuary state for pedophiles.”
With the release of some 20,000
documents of the Epstein files, the United
States looks like a sanctuary nation for
pedophiles.
Republican Congresspeople stalled
on releasing the files for months. The
Department of Justice obstructed justice.
The 34-count felon and sexual predator in
the White House called the entire Epstein
case a “Democrat hoax.”
The world is aware that this
country harbors pedophiles, those who
protect them, and individuals who benefit
from their actions. The guest list of
Diddy’s freak-offs was quite revealing, but
paled in comparison to Jeffrey Epstein’s
list. It shouldn't come as a shock that the
Epstein list features names from the highest
echelons of society, including a prince.
Prince Andrew was rightly kicked out of the
royal castle and stripped of his titles.
The era of grainy peep shows and
low-budget porn films is long gone. The
likes of Diddy, Epstein, and Ghislaine
Maxwell are part of an adult entertainment
industry that sexually exploits the most
vulnerable people. The industry has evolved
into a sophisticated enterprise that has
shed much of its stigma, raking in an
estimated $100 billion annually. It is a
global industry with long corporate
tentacles.
Well-known names like Playboy and
Larry Flynt Publications are joined by
lesser-known companies such as MindGeek,
Vivid, and AVN. Major corporations like
AT&T, Time Warner, DirecTV, Hilton,
Sheraton, VISA, MasterCard, and American
Express are all profiting from the services
they provide to the industry. When you begin
to connect the dots between various players
- politicians, corporations, religious
institutions, and judges - it becomes
clearer why victims of sexual assault and
exploitation can’t get the justice they
deserve.
Too many people have bought into
the narrative that sexual assault victims
are responsible for their own situations.
Despite the incredible amount of public
education by advocates on rape, sex
trafficking, and other forms of
exploitation, we still hear people blame
women for the risqué outfit they were
wearing, for responding to “booty calls” in
the early morning, or for staying with an
abusive partner who subjects them to rape.
Too many people believe that in the
so-called free market, one cannot tell
businesses what they can or cannot do to
make their money. With the integration of
media, retail products, advertising,
streaming, and advanced technologies,
concerned legislators have found it
challenging to regulate the industry. The
proliferating industry feels safe from
scrutiny or prosecution. The few laws on the
books are weak and rarely enforced.
I argue that when people truly
understand capitalism and its myriad ways to
exploit anyone and everybody, they will
organize for systemic change. This society
has shown troubling indifference to prevent
breakthroughs with pedophilia. The Catholic
Church is a prime example of random and
controlled prosecution at the high cost of
our children’s well-being and futures.
Our children are generally not
safe, especially from sexual predators. They
will remain at risk in this country as long
as predators are allowed to operate freely
within the sacred spaces of churches, the
private homes of celebrities, and on the
World Wide Web in pursuit of child
pornography.
Moral corruption often paves the
way for political corruption, and our
country is spiraling out of control in both
areas. Adults in this nation must confront
their role in this troubling issue and take
decisive action to become defenders and
protectors of our youth. Without effective
intervention, many broken children will grow
into broken adults. That is a legacy we
should not accept.
