The number of victims that have experienced sexual abuse and have not talked about it is still very large, but TV shows have definitely made it an easy topic to address.
Here's three TV shows story lines about childhood abuse that recently got our attention.
"This Is Us"
This highly acclaimed comedy-drama is know for tugging at the heart strings. We've seen storylines of Kate dealing with her obesity, Kevin's alcohol abuse and Randal's insecurities about been a black child in a white household. But Zoe's current storyline is the most heart wrenching yet. Zoe was sexually abused by her father. In the show, she doesn’t want to see the "unnamed man", talk about him or open up her budding relationship with Kevin to him in any way.
"A Million Little Things"
Regina is particularly upset with her mother, who not only didn’t tell her about Uncle Neil’s role in financing the restaurant but also appears to take Neil’s side. Subsequently we learn that Uncle Neil molested Regina when she was 12 years old. Regina has been carrying the shame of “allowing” him to do that her whole life, and she understandably breaks down. Regina finally gathers up the courage to confront her accuser- but it's to late, Uncle Neil had passed away.
"Murphy Brown"
Inspired by the #MeToo movement, Murphy Brown shares her own sexual assault story. More than four decades after the experience—she was assaulted by her college professor—she realised, in part because of the women sharing their stories aligned with the #MeToo movement, that it had caused her trauma she never recognised or dealt with. By the end of the episode, she confronts her former professor, articulates for the first time the decades of irreparable pain he caused, and gets the closest thing a person who has been through what she has can get to closure.