False Allegations (34 page)

Jennifer Dalton disappeared the next day. The cops said there was no evidence of foul play.

K
ite was a different story. A maid discovered his body in the penthouse a few days later. He’d been beaten to death. His files had been looted, picked clean. “It could have been anyone— we’ve got a long list of suspects,” the lead detective on the case told the newspapers. “But whoever did it was a pro— they knew what they were doing.”

They got that part right anyway.

I
don’t know where Heather went to. But wherever she is, I know her eyes aren’t orange anymore.

AFTERWORD

Every year, millions of children in the United States are victimized by severe abuse. This maltreatment takes many forms, but all have this in common: they rob children of some percentage of their potential, some vital human piece of themselves. And by such robbery, all America is looted. The problem has been documented to the point of nausea. The media dutifully report the body counts, but the one–sided war rages on. Domestic violence, sexual exploitation, rape, sociopathic plundering, homicide…we remain under siege even as our “protective” institutions rot from within.

We know the root cause of our societal ills and evil— the transgenerational maltreatment of children. We know today’s victim can become tomorrow’s predator. We know that while many heroic survivors refuse to imitate the oppressor, the chains remain unbroken as abused children turn the trauma inward and lose their souls to self–inflicted wounds— from drug and alcohol abuse to depression to suicide. Their lives are never what they could have—
should
have— been.

We know the enemy…but where is the counterattack? More social engineering? More pious whining? More networking? More conferences? More unfocused, blundering incompetence? There is a Rosetta stone to societal decay. Child abuse, simply, modifies development of the brain. It alters “processing,” so that the abused child (of whatever age) assimilates and responds to stimuli in distinctly aberrant ways. Most of those ways are self–destructive. Some destroy others. All, eventually, destroy
us
…as a country, and even as a species.

The CIVITAS Child Trauma Programs at Baylor College of Medicine are attacking child maltreatment in three distinct ways: (1) providing clinical services to desperately underserved children; (2) training a cadre of dedicated and superbly skilled professionals; and (3) carrying out these services and training in the context of ongoing research. Without an understanding of what happens
inside
maltreated children, we can never hope for meaningful change but must expect only a continuation of our pitiful policies of appeasement and amelioration.

CIVITAS provides a multidisciplinary and interinstitutional spirit that synthesizes the complex social, legal, cultural, psychological, and physical issues related to child maltreatment. When is it safe to return an abused child to his biological parents? What about “false allegations?” What constitutes a truly professional investigation? What turns one abused child into a healer…and another into a serial killer? Are monsters born, or made? CIVITAS is answering these questions and, more important, documenting the answers,
proving
them again and again, developing a body of scientific knowledge to replace the psychobabble and guesstimates that pass for “truth” today. A major goal of CIVITAS is to develop, pilot, and evaluate innovative models for clinical service, training, and research in a
replicable model
for use throughout America.

Some of this research is now available. More is being developed every day. How can you help? By altering the
pace
of this vital work. What CIVITAS needs is resources. Financial resources. Given sufficient resources, we can not only find the answers, we can implement them. Do it for humanitarian reasons. Do it for self–interest. But do it now. Please.

If you want more information about CIVITAS; if you want to make a contribution; or if you want both, write to:

Bruce D. Perry, M.D., Director

CIVITAS Child Trauma Programs

Baylor College of Medicine

Department of Psychiatry

One Baylor Plaza

Houston, TX 77030–3498

e–mail [email protected]

CIVITAS is a tax–exempt, not–for–profit organization. Checks should be made payable to Baylor College of Medicine (Tax ID 74–1613878) and marked for the exclusive use of Dr. Bruce D. Perry for the CIVITAS Child Trauma Programs.