Making a vow. Jill and Jessa Duggar want to raise awareness about sexual abuse amid their brother Josh’s molestation scandal. The 19 Kids and Counting stars addressed the issue during a TLC documentary titled Breaking the Silence on Sunday, Aug. 30.
“I feel like this should be a discussion that people are having, even regularly,” Jessa, 22, said. “I think that it shouldn’t be a taboo subject and that we should be bringing awareness to child sexual abuse and talking about it.”
Jill, 24, added: “It was amazing to understand that there are so many people that deal with the exact same thing in their own families, so just being educated is very good.”
Back in June, the siblings revealed that they were among Josh’s victims during an interview with Fox News’ Megyn Kelly. After his past came to light — and TLC canceled their TV reality series — the network revealed it would be airing the one-hour special.
“I was so glad that my girls and I were able to do this together,” Michelle Duggar said in the documentary Sunday. “And that we could just be a support and encouragement to each other to be able to gain more information about this important topic.”
More details have surfaced since TLC announced the documentary earlier this month. On Aug. 19, it was revealed via leaked records that Josh paid for two accounts on the adultery website Ashley Madison. The married father of four, 27, confessed, and is now seeking help in a long-term treatment center.
“We are so thankful for the outpouring of love, care and prayers for our family during this most difficult situation with Josh,” Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar said in a statement amid the news. “As parents we are so deeply grieved by our son’s decisions and actions. His wrong choices have deeply hurt his precious wife and children and have negatively affected so many others. He has also brought great insult to the values and faith we hold dear.”
