In conjunction with Sexual Assault Awareness and Child Abuse Awareness month, the Southwest Mississippi Children’s Advocacy Center in McComb is joining nationwide efforts to shed light on what is coming to be known as a silent epidemic. 

On Tuesday, SMCC will host Matthew Sandusky, who will present programs on childhood sexual abuse prevention to Denman Junior High and McComb High schools before a program in the Fine Arts Auditorium at SMCC at 6:30 p.m. “Be the Light; An Evening With Matthew Sandusky,” is open to the public and admission is $10.

“His story is really a message of hope and healing,” said Trisha Artigues, of SMCC. “He won’t get into the details of his abuse, but his talk is going to be more of an encouragement to those who have experienced sexual abuse that there is healing. [It’s] a talk that’s going to help with prevention and help keep this from happening to more children.”

In 2012, former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky was convicted of 45 counts of child sexual abuse and sentenced to 30 to 60 years in prison. Matthew Sandusky came forward during his adopted father’s trial after hearing testimonies from other victims. Matthew Sandusky’s story of silently enduring years of abuse at the hands of someone who should have been keeping him safe is unfortunately characteristic of most child sexual abuse cases.

Because child sexual abuse is vastly underreported, the prevalence of the issue is difficult to determine, though experts agree that the incidence is far greater than what is reported to authorities, according to The National Center for Victims of Crime. Some CDC research has estimated that approximately one in six boys and one in four girls are sexually abused before the age of 18. An overwhelming majority of children are abused by someone they know. According to research cited on peacefulheartsfoundation.org, an estimated 60 percent of perpetrators of sexual abuse are known to the child but are not family members, e.g., family, friends, babysitters, childcare providers, neighbors; about 30 percent of perpetrators are family members, e.g., fathers, mothers, brothers, uncles, aunts, cousins; and just 10 percent of perpetrators are strangers to the child.

In the wake of the very public scandal, Matthew Sandusky founded the Peaceful Hearts Foundation, which promotes stronger statute of limitation laws, resources for survivors and families, public awareness and education about CSA, stronger mandated reporter laws and other legislation. Matthew Sandusky’s talk at SMCC on Tuesday is part of a series of programs by the foundation across the country.

Artigues said this talk is part of the SMCC mission to prevent child abuse, along with recently strengthened efforts to educate children and the public.

“This year, we went in to Brookhaven schools to do a brand-new child abuse prevention program,” Artigues said of the recent “Hugs and Kisses” play performed by student volunteers at Mamie Martin Elementary. “This was our first year to do that in [Brookhaven], and, depending upon support from the community, we are hoping to continue to grow our program and reach out to more schools, more districts and the different age groups as well.”

Artigues said the number of people coming forward with reports of abuse, or “disclosures,” has definitely gone up in the past year, however, this does not necessarily mean an increase in incidents. Artigues explained that rather than reflecting growth in occurrences, rising numbers coinciding with an increase in programs and awareness efforts means that more children, or adult survivors of child sexual abuse, have found a safe place to begin a process of healing.

Like many Children’s Advocacy Centers in the U.S. — and, recently, 22 other countries —SMCC provides a number of free services including onsite counseling for children, as well as non-offending family members; forensic interviews and a multi-disciplinary team of professionals including law enforcement, medical professionals, DHS and legal entities to staff open cases.

Artigues said any moneys raised by the “Be the Light” program will go to the advocacy center, which services five counties including Pike, Lincoln, Amite, Copiah and Walthall.

For more information, visit http://www.peacefulheartsfoundation.org and http://childadvocacyms.org, or contact SMCC at 601-684-4009.