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17 July 2006 Guest Editorial by Staci Backauskas.

There is no doubt that pedophilia and sexual abuse are at an all time high.  In our outrage at this devastating phenomenon, we’ve allowed NBC to pretend as if they are contributing to a solution.  Nothing could be further from the truth. 

Flipping around the channels, I stumbled across a new episode of Dateline: Perverted Justice.  I tried to watch.  The topic is something I feel passionate about and I was hopeful about a partnership whose purported goal is to stop adults from preying on kids by bringing awareness to this epidemic. 

So why did I feel sick to my stomach as Chris Hansen, with the finely honed skill of a Serengeti marksman, carefully constructed a trap for each man who’d shown up expecting to have sex with a girl?  Watching these men squirm as they were grilled about their sexual preferences, motives, careers and families didn’t feel like justice.  It felt like I was in the Coliseum watching the Romans feed another Christian to the lions.

Taking ten minutes to interrogate these men is a tactic designed solely to humiliate them.  And in turn, their families.  It’s as if Chris Hansen’s salary depends upon how many beads of sweat he can produce from his slick Geraldo-like bad cop act.

I’m not defending these men or their actions.  As someone who has experienced sexual abuse, I am intimately familiar with its effects and the process necessary to heal.  But pedophilia, incest, and sexual abuse are symptoms, not the problem.  As long as we are focused on solving the symptom, the problem is free to mutate and reproduce at an alarming rate.  Just as important, it portrays girls and young women as victims and does nothing to empower them, but rather reinforces the myth that females need a “strong” man to rescue them.

According to statistics cited on Stop It Now! one in five girls in the United States will experience some type of sexual abuse as a child.  The number for boys is not much better. Combine those numbers with the accepted thinking that nearly 90% of sexual abuse cases are not reported, and the potential numbers are staggering. 

If NBC were really interested in contributing to the solution, they would not merely be focusing on the symptom.  I understand they’re in business to make money.  What they need to see is that they can still have their ratings cake and eat it too.

Here’s how.  Devote a portion of each episode to:

Initiating a dialogue on the reasons why men feel compelled to act out in this way – until we deal with the emotional and psychological issues that cause adults to behave inappropriately with children, the statistics will continue to explode. 

Encouraging parents to communicate with their children about the dangers of chatting with strangers on the Internet and showing them how to do it.  Being a parent is the toughest job in the world.  Help them help their kids.

Educating viewers on what healthy relationship dynamics look like – you can’t teach your kids what you weren’t taught. 

Allowing kids to talk about what makes chatting about sex so attractive – facilitating honest dialogue will bring the issues that foster this behavior to the surface.

Yes, this will require more work on NBC’s part.  It would also be a gigantic step in really addressing this issue and not just slapping a Band-Aid on a sucking chest wound.  Isn’t that the purpose of a medium like television – to inform and educate as well as entertain?

Have the wisdom and chutzpah to stop taking the lazy way out by feeding upon the shame and humiliation of the potential perpetrators.  Your silent glee when the cameras appear reveals fangs of greed as you beat your chest on the haunches of your self-righteous behavior.  Perverted Justice - you bet.

--Editorial by Staci Backauskas--

External Link:

Perverted Justice and NBC - Justice or Perverted?