UNITED STATES
Daily Herald
By Ken Potts
A pastor seduces women from his congregation who come to him for counseling. An attorney regularly propositions clients in divorce cases. A priest has a long-term affair with a married woman in his parish. A psychotherapist tries to persuade clients that having sex with him will help in overcoming their sexual problems. A physician is sexually provocative when alone with patients.
There is a phrase often used when such situations are revealed: sexual abuse. And we talk of the people — women, children, men — who have been so abused as “victims.”
“Abuse.” “Victims.” In private, some people struggle with these words. Especially when adults are involved, sooner or later someone will eventually ask, “Why didn’t she (or he) just say no?”
Usually the people who ask this question are fairly good at saying “no” themselves. They are generally secure in their own sense of worth and power. They trust their own judgment. Unfortunately, our own healthy self-worth and assertiveness can blind us to the reality that many people have not been taught these attitudes and skills. Women, especially, are often taught the very opposite in our culture.
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