Sexual abuse stories seem salacious, unnecessary

Recently there have been a series of articles that I feel need to be called out. The many mental health care workers that I’ve spoken with are extremely concerned about the full disclosure of details of sexual abuse forced upon children in our community. There is absolutely no valid reason to report such shocking details in a small local paper. It only needlessly stigmatizes the victims, further traumatizing the children. This kind of sensationalism journalism also discourages other victims from reporting abuse. The research on this goes back decades.

This type of reporting also targets victims among their peers and unhealthy adults who seem to enjoy the further exploitation of others. The only purpose of detailing sexual abuse is to sell more newspapers and it’s appalling that our local paper is stooping to this level of re-traumatizing children who’ve already been through hell. Anyone who supports this type of content, which absolutely re-traumatizes victims, needs to take a hard look at the quality of their moral fiber.

Instead of this salacious type of reporting how about detailing what our elected officials are up to here locally and in Boise that has the potential of causing great harm for generations to come? How about educating the public on topics to engage our society to work for a better future, rather than exploit vulnerable abuse victims?

CINDY AASE

Sandpoint