"It's easy for women to go unnoticed," said Wilson. They also have easier access to children. Mothers who sexually abuse tend to have higher rates of mental illness and are often the victims of abuse themselves. In September, when child star MacKenzie Phillips went on the "Oprah Winfrey Show" to disclose her father had raped her at the age of 19, calls to RAINN's hotline from incest victims "spiked." "This crime is hard to track because people just don't share it with law enforcement," she told. Today, Milligan is a spokesman for the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, sharing his experiences as a survivor.Ībout 10 percent of all crisis calls to the RAINN hotline are from males, according to program director Jennifer Wilson, who said they get about 100,000 calls a year. Though his childhood was ravaged, he has managed to raise a son, now 23, who "has never known violence or abuse." In 27 percent of these cases, the abuse is perpetrated by the child's parents.īut Milligan has much to be positive about. "For three months I suffered from hysterical paralysis."Īn estimated one in four girls and one in seven boys will be sexually assaulted or abused before the age of 18, according to the Alabama-based National Children's Advocacy Center. "Around 10 years old, I started to get this unbelievable feeling of dread that if I don't get out I am going to die from the decadence, the debauchery, the forced molestations and the beatings that became more severe," he said. Often, they prey on daughters, but more frequently their sons - who report increased feelings of isolation and sexual confusion along with thoughts of suicide.īoth of Milligan's parents are now dead, but his past still haunts him. One of the unspeakable secrets in the world of child sexual abuse is that mothers can be molesters.
It was so horrendous for me to believe she actually would do this to me." "Back then I would never tell anyone, not even a sibling," said Milligan, the most "compliant and sensitive" of three children living at home.