I recently saw the movie Precious which tells the story of an African American teen living in Harlem. Through the movie, she is pregnant with her second child from being raped multiple times by her father. Her mother is abusive both emotionally and physically and does not support her desire for an education. While Precious endures countless acts of physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect and domestic violence, she is resilient and goes to an alternative school to learn the basic skills of reading and writing.
As many as one in four girls and one in six boys may suffer from sexual abuse by the time they are 18.1 This movie really made me realize that while this is a fictional story, there are people like Precious living in every community. My jaw was literally dropped throughout the movie and I almost felt guilty because I come from a good home and family who support and nurture me. Why should this amazingly strong and resilient girl go through such a devastating life? Why do people like Precious go unnoticed by social workers and community helpers? There were few people who actually helped Precious effectively throughout the movie and they only did at times of dire need. Precious’ successes came primarily from her ability to go to another, happier place in her mind as she lived in these traumatic conditions. There were several improvements to the community’s efforts to deal with child abuse that I think girls like Precious could benefit from.
The biggest issue is the timing of decision making when it comes to placement of children who have experienced child abuse. It is important to get children who are abused into a permanent, safe home rather than go to several sights of foster care. Stability is important for all children, but even more important for those who are going through traumatic events. I think it is also important to make sure that the children’s wants