'Fat People Aren't Unstable' -- For This We Needed a Study?

SHOOTING THE MESSENGERS

Cross posted on behalf The Awareness Center:

CALL TO ACTION:
Marvin Schick, New York Jewish Week and Sexual Violence

Please read the information below and send a note to Marvin Schick and the Jewish Week:

Marvin Schick lacks the information and education needed to be making any sort of public statement regarding the issue of sexual violence in Jewish communities. Unfortunately, the Jewish Week gave permission for Schick to have a voice to promote inaccuracies to the Jewish world.

It's time we demand that Jewish newspapers only publish information and articles on the topic of sexual violence from those who have the appropriate credentials of being experts in the field of sexual violence -- and not those who just who can afford to pay for full page ads, as in the case of Marvin Schick.

In Schtick's article he attacks Rachel Yehuda, who is one of the foremost researchers in the trauma field. We all should be asking Marvin Schick to show us his resume so that we can determine his expertise in the field.

As a people we also must also demand honesty, transparency and accountablity from all of those who are attempting to influence the Jewish world. By not doing so we are allowing our community leaders to murder the neshema's (souls) of those who have been violated and their family members.

Contact:
Marvin Schick
mschick@mindspring.com

Jewish Week
Gary Rosenblatt, Senior Editor
gary@jewishweek.org

______________________________________________

Dr. Michael Salamon granted The Awareness Center permission to forward the following message which was originally posted to the NEFESH list serve. NEFESH is an international organization representing orthodox mental health professionals.

Executive Board Member - Dr. Michael J. Salamon Responds to Marvin Schick's paid ad in the New York Jewish Week (see below):

I am amazed at how many of us are more interested in "shooting the messengers" than in attempting to use this information to help us serve our communities better.

I was having a discussion about this topic the other day with a member of the Nefesh community who insisted that the study was not of rigorous random design and therefore could not be considered valid. I asked the person if they were familiar with survey techniques and non-parametric research. They were not. How then can they speak of validity in this study? They went on to say that they see a great many clients and only (ONLY!) about 10 percent of their have been sexually abused. My response was twofold: How can you generalize from your practice to another and that they do not specialize in these types of cases. I mentioned another of our colleagues who does specialize in this form of abuse who has more than half of their case load consisting of clients that were sexually abused.

Are there flaws in this study? Sure. Does that invalidate it? Absolutely not (for statistical reasons far too complex to discuss here. (For those interested in this statistical issue I suggest you start with the many articles and books by Cohen & Cohen on power)

The shame is that, even today, sexual predators may be encouraged to continue their ways because they take solace in the fact that the frum community is minimizing the problem.

Please, let us take this study and use it to help our communities. Don't shoot the messengers!

Michael J. Salamon, Ph.D., FICPP
Senior Psychologist/Director
Adult Developmental Center
1728 Broadway, Suite 1, Hewlett, NY 11557
516 596-0073

Dr. Salamon, you are on point! And believe me, the frum community isn't the only community that minimizes the problem - and blames the VICTIM or MALIGNS proofs of ABUSE!

My emails have already gone out. Have yours?