About old claims: I remember watching a short documentary about these two women who were sexually abused by nuns and the documentary stated that it takes rape/abuse victims DECADES to fully process and comprehend what happened to them, let alone talk about it. The shame and stigma surrounded being a victim of such crimes certainly doesn't help. I wish people would take things like that more seriously but somehow it's always the victim that get the short end of the stick.
Exactly! Some people wonder why victims don't immediately report to the police what happened, but they don't realize how hard it is to come forward about these types of things. There are so many reasons why a victim wouldn't come forward right away: the perpetrator has threatened them, they don't think they'll be believed or taken seriously, they feel ashamed or as if it's their fault, or like you said-- they are still trying to understand what happened. Plus, the victim isn't usually shown much empathy or kindness by the officials. Thank you for the comments; you always have such well-said and eloquent answers to difficult subjects.