Acting-out and the dynamics of victimization

Conclusion The trauma of child abuse resides not only in the event itself but also arises from dynamics of victimization which causes secondary trauma. Acting-out among adolescents is symbolic of these dynamics. This article has explored an ecological perspective to present a relational model of pastoral care, uplifting the impact of victimization on both the individual and the community, as well as the individual's interaction within the community.Before we nail another acting-out adolescent to the cross, we must admit here and now that the deviance manifested in victimization and its corollary, the conformity of silence, are oppressive social forces which contradict our call to transform blindness into witness, silence into revelation, and separation into reconciliation. Jesus advocated against conformity to social inadequacies, and pointed to something greater as he reconciled the separated, helpless victims to the love of a caring God.