Chloe Nazra Lee, MD, MPH - Jeffrey Epstein's Crimes: Child Sexual Abuse Isn't a 'Type'

[Jim Burton]

https://www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/se ... ons/118622

"Can I tell you something, Dr. Lee?" my adolescent patient asked. I nodded.

She whispered into my ear: "He raped me." Her large eyes pleaded with me to believe her, and she suddenly pushed her baby face into my shoulder and let the tears come.

I don't allow physical contact with patients. But instinctively, I let her stay there. There are no words to describe the bitterness of the moment; it was a pain transcending language. She -- younger-looking than her years, disappearing into an oversized sweatshirt -- clinging to me. I -- a young doctor on call, exhausted -- numb after the revelation.

[...]

I first started thinking about this after leaving an abusive partner with a penchant for prostitutes -- I couldn't understand why he preferred them sexually to a healthy relationship. But a domestic violence counselor gave me the evidence-based answer to that question: "Abusive men seek transactional sex because they feel they control the scene when they pay for it. They create a scene where they're allowed to overpower a woman."

[...]

In its definition of CSA, the CDC defines "child" as "person less than 18." Developmentally, a child does not understand and cannot consent to sex with an adult.

I do not dispute that there is a difference between a 5-year-old and a 15-year-old. I dispute that the difference matters when it comes to sexual abuse.