I think that in the scenario that Gretchen was a close friend, and therefore no longer living in the 1950s, the situation would be very different than in the novel, Until They Bring They the Streetcars Back. As opposed to the need for secrecy and hiding her mistreatment (because her father would punish her more if the police visited and didn't arrest him), the human services and child welfare programs we have now are much more intuitive and capable of protecting children from this harm. I think that if she asked me for help, I would undoubtably tell her to reach out to a Child Welfare organization, the police, or even a school counselor/adult to alert them of the horrible and unjustifiable crimes her father had committed against Gretchen and her sister. In this situation, I would also probably report it myself, and though Cal tries to do this in the novel by calling Sergeant Riley at the police station several times, the circumstance was vastly different because they couldn't arrest her Gretchen's father without tangible evidence. In our society now, there is heightened (though still not immense) awareness of child abuse, and a recognition that many children are scared to report their abuser because they may be abused even more if they reach out for help. I took Intro to Human Services with Running Start last semester, and I was kind of surprised by the practices and ideals of many Child Welfare organizations, including Child Protective Services and regional/federal agencies that protect and advocate for children. There are a fair amount of options for someone in an abusive situation to any degree (child abuse, domestic abuse, verbal/emotional abuse, etc.) if they only reach out for help, whether this is telling a friend (like Gretchen tells Cal) or reporting the abuser directly. I think that if Gretchen were having this issues now instead of the 1950s, her abuse would have been vastly cut short, and the physical and emotional trauma she faced greatly decreased. I think, however, that no matter what year or social mindset the abused in living in, they should always report their abuse. If I were in Cal's position, I would vehemently suggest that Gretchen talk to a teacher at school or the police/show them the signs of her physical abuse/explain the situation with her father, and how further abuse will ensue if he knew she reported him. Nobody should ever have to endure abuse and mistreatment in any way, especially to the horrific extent that Gretchen has, and I wish that our world was automatically inclined to stop mistreatment before it even starts.
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