College Offers Free Class on Sexual Abuse of Children

A free class on sexual abuse of children and adolescents is being offered to county residents at Cypress College.

The instructor, Valerie Bradford, is a professional counselor with a graduate degree in social work from USC. She has a private practice in Orange.

Most class members have either been victims of sexual abuse themselves or have been affected by the impact of abuse on others.

Of all substance abusers, 80% have been victims of sexual abuse, Bradford said.

She told the class that she too was a victim of abuse at the hands of a member of her family.

Although a 1985 Los Angeles Times survey of more than 2,500 U.S. adults indicated that 27% of women and 10% of men were sexually abused as children, Bradford believes that the true number is much higher.

“When you include non-touching abuse (exhibitionism, pornography, etc.) the total is closer to 50%,” she said.

Sexual abuse occurs “when a person has been exploited by someone more powerful than he or she for the perpetrator’s sexual stimulation,” Bradford said.

She added that the exploitation can be “either by an overt or covert sexual contact.”

The course is held Saturday mornings in Room AE7 at Cypress College, 9200 Valley View St. in Cypress and will continue to meet through mid-March.

Topics to be covered in future meetings include: theories regarding the causes of sexual abuse, the impacts on victims, the law regarding disclosure and treatment.