Turning the Lights On

In plain sight.

In 2017, Netflix came out with a documentary titled, “Abducted in Plain Sight”. The piece followed the story of the Broberg family, and the kidnapping of their daughter, Jan, by a sexual predator. The thing that made this story so different from so many others like hers, was that her abuser had groomed the family so well, that he was able to take Jan completely in plain sight, with the knowledge and permission from her parents.

The film leaves the viewer shaking their head and wondering how could this happen? How could someone know what was happening and let their daughter get taken by a monster?

The irony of this film, I believe, is that this family represents all of us.

From my own experience and statistical likelihood, I know that a person is most likely to be the victim of sexual violence through someone close to them. A father, a sibling, an uncle, a neighbor, a friend or acquaintance, or a religious leader. There are many ways for a predator to work their way into gaining access to those they intend to hurt, those they intend to use - to wring dry like a mop and dump to the side. These people are everywhere, and for some reason, it’s really hard, infinitely hard, for us to accept that. It seems much easier to outsource this evil to a proximity just safe enough away to where it bears no responsibility to us or our lives. But in the meantime, our children are raped, our teenagers are assaulted, and women and men are violated in obscene ways. There aren’t words that exist in the English language to accurately describe these actions. And we are choosing not to look at it.

We are all Mary Ann and Robert Broberg. All of us. We are so unable to see the ways that we are being actively groomed in our families, our churches, our communities, and our systems that we allow this disease to creep through the most innocent among us. To hollow out their souls. We continue to let the darkness grow and shame thrive until those who are victims have nowhere to go except their own personal hell. They don’t speak, they don’t share, they don’t cry for help. Because why would they when it’s obvious that no one really cares?

People do care. I know they do. They have to. This platform is created in the hopes that I can find those people and help them feel seen. Things in plain sight can only be visible with the lights on.