TV & VIDEO - April 18, 1989

“A Deadly Silence,” ABC’s Sunday night movie about sexual child abuse, stirred the emotions of viewers and caused more than 1,000 people to call the 24-hour Childhelp’s National Child Abuse Hotline number, (800) 4-A-CHILD, that was displayed at the end of the film. The hot line normally averages about 100 calls in a 12-hour period. Most callers were adult survivors, many were abusers and a few were abused children. The hot line received more than 3,000 calls last month following the airing on PBS of “To a Safer Place,” about an adult survivor who talks to her family about the abuse.