Shattered Silence

Primarily comprised of a talking-head presentation by incest survivor Penny Batts, this four-tape series, subtitled Protecting Children From Sexual Abuse, ostensibly means to alert parents to the very real dangers of sexual abuse in our society. Viewers are told that sexual abuse can be an act, a statement, or a gesture (what statements or what gestures are not said), and given a list of 28 possible abuse indicators (many of which are commonly seen in unabused children), followed by another long list of possible psychological consequences. In describing a model family where incest might occur the program reaches levels of detail that seem way too specific (in families where a daughter is abused by a father, for instance, the male children are likely to "verbally abuse female classmates or physically hurt them"). Or, when describing the pedophiles in the "regressive" personality category, the program gives two distinguishing characteristics: he exhibits "normal social development" and "gets along with men and women." That's it. Not helpful. Shattered Silence suffers from too much confusing information. Too, as the program progresses, the net of possible abusers is thrown wider and wider and parents are encouraged to check out their child's teachers and coaches, or older teenagers who live down the street, or Boy Scout leaders; they should also make "surprise visits" to school and drop in on camping trips. Traumatic events can color the way we perceive the world, and while a little paranoia is probably both healthy and wise these days, in Shattered Silence it's taken a bit too far. Better treatments of the subject are found in Pathways to Healing: From Childhood Sexual Abuse (reviewed in our November 1992 issue) and Theresa Tollini's Breaking Silence. Not recommended. (R. Pitman)