Working to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse

Molokai is a strong, tight-knit community with close family and neighborhood ties. However, issues such as child sexual abuse are often avoided in conversation and swept under the rug for fear of damaging those relationships, according to a statewide study conducted in 2011.
“About sexual abuse, there are generations of it [on Molokai],” said an anonymous participant in the study lead by the University of Hawaii School of Social Work. “Everyone knows but no one talks about it cause it is a small community.”
Yet Molokai women broke the silence last Wednesday at the first women’s group meeting to address child sexual abuse on the island.…