It's a valid point.
I honestly wonder how many girls haven't experienced 'sexual abuse' of some kind - from simply having a stranger expose themselves right through to actual penetration. I'd expect that many (most?) females (and quite a few males), have been a childhood victim of something between these two extremes.
Excellent question, MurriFlower. Unfortunately, I can't give you any round numbers. Let's look at it this way: I read some stats a few years ago (FBI stats, I think--don't hold me to that yet) that something like 60% of rapes go unreported, and of the ones that ARE, only a fraction of the victims will testify. There are numerous reasons for this. Perhaps most important is the sheer shame of it. A lot of rape victims, as I said, think that it's their fault. It's just too crushing to relive it to the police and in court. It's often said that rape is the only crime where you can be victimized twice, both by the criminal, and by the defense attorney.
And these victims are adult women, presumably in control of their faculties. Just imagine how daunting it must be for a small child. They don't always know it's wrong. Indeed, if the abuser is someone they trust deeply, they may grow to associate it with love. Even if they DO know it's wrong, who do they go to? Plus, children are much easier to control, both through bribes and fear. And most of them want only to please adults, which exacerbates the other problems.
Pretty children of both genders are probably more at risk than plain children.
In this particular instance, you have a child who is IDEAL for a molester: beautiful, charming, and trained to obey adults.
The inference that JBR was abused previously is therefore not surprising. It doesn't automatically mean though, that it was her father, because there were plenty of other males who had access to the child. As we've previously discussed, this may not have been confined to males either.
You're right on all counts.
Was her mother also abused? Possibly. Would this have led to the child being 'blamed' and then punished? I wouldn't have thought so.
Most people wouldn't think so. Unfortunately, that reaction is fairly common among mothers of abused children. One of the best known examples is former Miss America and CO native Marilyn Van Derbur. She was molested by her father. When she worked up the nerve to tell her mother, her mother punished her for being a liar.
PR (if she was a victim also) would have been more likely IMO to have sought to achieve the 'justice' for JBR that she may have been denied (or was too scared/embarrassed to tell).
Well, you could go the opposite way, too. What you say might be true, IF PR believed her. But if PR had suppressed the memory, then this would be like a slap in the face, because it would suggest that she (PR) had made the same mistake her own mother made. And as far as that goes, she might go into denial, choosing to believe that JonBenet was lying, like Marilyn's mother.
This is why I doubt that PR was herself a victim, because she seemed totally 'clueless' about security/safety and supervision of the children.
Well, that's one way to look at it. Another way to look at it would be that PR may have been in denial. Maybe she figured she'd left "that" behind.
I'm not saying you're wrong, MurriFlower. I'm ruminating for thoughts on this subject, and you're giving some very good ones.
For example, when "Mr Mom" was taking care of the children for the weekend while she and PW went shopping. If abused, PR would have found any excuse NOT to leave the kids alone with a man. Ditto for her father babysitting them. McSanta would have rung alarm bells - his obsession with JBR was like a flashing warning sign.
Well, it's funny you say that, because in 2000, PR was asked if she ever entertained the thought that JR was molesting JB during her cancer treatments. She said she HAD, but she dismissed it. Her reasoning is very odd, though. Her basis for dismissing the idea was not any faith in her husband, but because her mother was sleeping in the same room. A less trusting person (such as myself) could drive a tractor-trailer through the holes in that logic.
I think also if PR was abused, she would not have allowed (let alone encouraged) JBR to compete in the pageants. So, I therefore believe that PR was probably NOT abused herself as a child, otherwise she would have been more in tune with the dangers to her own daughter.
Hmm. An interesting point.
As far as the sexual abuse that occurred at the time that JBR was killed, it appears that there was 'digital' penetration and perhaps an 'object' (broken stick). There was enough violence to have caused bleeding, so it was not insignificant (as NP described), however, given the extreme violence of her death (bash and strangle) the sexual assault seems comparitively minor.
Compared to virtually EVERY other sexual assault on a child, it was minor, MurriFlower. That's one of the points that the FBI made early on in this case. Never mind her other injuries. Even live victims are torn up a lot worse.
MurriFlower, I have to say, this has been an excellent conversation.