Consistency between the film and the course material

The film entitled “The Boys of St. Vincent” is consistent with the course material in so many ways. For instance, it was also mentioned that isolated children are more prone to becoming sexually abused (78). In the film, Kevin Reevey was often times isolated from most of the children in the orphanage. For instance, inside the basement, Kevin was hiding on the dark watching the janitor fix a leaking pipe (You Tube 5:55). When asked by the janitor what Kevin was doing inside the dark basement on his own, Kevin said that he is not afraid of the dark and he likes to be inside the basement on his own (6:58). This is a clear indication that Kevin is often isolated from the crowd. In another occasion, prior to bedtime, Kevin was alone reading a book instead of playing with other boys (9:10). It was also mentioned in the course material that the typical features of child sexual abuse include: young boys and girls between the age of 4 to 9 years old (78). In this film, Kevin who is a boy was in his puberty stage.

Brother Lavin is basically a pedophile. It means that he has developed some form of sexual fixation on young children (89). It is surprising to know that only Kevin is being instructed to go to Brother Peter Lavin’s office on several occasions during night time alone (You Tube 9:20; 14:27). Instead of seeing Brother Lavin in his office, Kevin decided to stow away from the orphanage (15:33). When Kevin was caught by the police, Kevin begged the police officer not to bring him back to the orphanage (16:59). In general, sexual abuse can be traumatic on the part of the victim (93). Similar to the case of Kevin, the course material mentioned that not all child sexual abuse victims are willing to disclose the fact that they had been sexually abused by another person especially during the traumatic stage (85; 26:40). The fact that Kevin begged not to bring him back to the orphanage is already a clear sign or indication that something inside the orphanage is not right.

Somewhere in the first half of the film, it was shown how Brother Lavin would undress Kevin first by removing his jacket followed by letting him sit on his lap before unbuttoning Kevin’s polo shirt and then kissing him on his cheek and all over his body (You Tube 18:40). In other words, situational indicators such as being called to go to Brother Levin’s office alone late at night strongly suggest that sexual abuse is possible (87). Over time, Kevin decided to disclose what exactly happened to him after a group of authorities had won his trust to protect his own welfare (1:15:18).

There are also some inconsistency between the film and the course material. For instance, one of the physical evidences suggesting that Kevin has been sexually abused is the loss of appetite (86; You Tube 25:39). However, not wanting to eat can also arise due to physical abuse such as maltreatment. Therefore, not all cases wherein a child would lose his appetite mean that the child has been sexually abused.

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