A Survivor’s Voice: Rabbi Avremi Zippel on Belief, Belonging, and Breaking the Silence

Rabbi Avremi Zippel serves the Salt Lake City community with purpose and compassion. He is also a survivor of childhood sexual abuse. His willingness to speak openly about his experience is a gift to every child and family who needs to hear that they are not alone.

The abuse began when Avremi Zippel was eight years old, carried out by a childhood caregiver over the course of several years. Like so many survivors, he carried the weight of this experience without the words, the awareness, or the reassurance that could have made an enormous difference.

What Every Child Deserves to Know

When Rabbi Avremi Zippel reflects on what he needed most as a child, his answer is clear and profound.

“More than anything else, what I really could have used is the knowledge that what was happening to me was not my fault. It was not okay. I was never going to be blamed for it in any capacity, and the reassuring feeling that there was someone out there that would believe me.”

These are not complicated things to offer a child. And yet, without education and community awareness, too many children grow up never hearing them. The knowledge that abuse is never the child’s fault, and that a trusted adult will listen and believe, can be the difference between a child staying silent for years and a child getting help when they need it most.

Rabbi Avremi Zippel did not have that education growing up. He did not have that knowledge. And his story reflects what happens when communities stay silent on this issue, even with the best of intentions.

Confronting a Myth That Has Caused Real Harm

One of the most important things Rabbi Avremi Zippel addresses is a belief that has long allowed abuse to go unaddressed: the idea that it only happens in certain families, certain schools, or certain communities.

“We used to believe that this only happened to problematic families and problematic schools. It didn’t happen in our circles.”

Abuse does not discriminate by income, religion, neighborhood, or reputation. When communities believe the problem is outside their communities, children within those communities lose the protection they deserve. Prevent Child Abuse Utah has worked hard to dismantle this misconception, bringing education and awareness to communities across the state, in all communities, families, and neighborhoods.

The Role of Community in Prevention

Rabbi Avremi Zippel speaks with genuine admiration for the work Prevent Child Abuse Utah does, not just in educating children, but in shifting the entire conversation at a community level.

He points to the progress that has been made: raising awareness, equipping parents with an understanding of the long-term effects of abuse, and creating space for communities to come together in support of children and survivors. Prevention, he emphasizes, is a shared responsibility, and every part of a community has a role to play.

Children at all ages deserve education about body safety and personal boundaries. Parents deserve honest information about what abuse looks like and how to talk about it. And communities deserve spaces where survivors are believed, supported, and never made to feel at fault.

How You Can Be Part of the Solution

Rabbi Avremi Zippel’s story is a reminder that silence does not protect children. Awareness does. Education does. Community does.

• Learn about PCAU’s prevention education programs and how to bring them to your school or community at pcautah.org/curriculum.
• Make sure the children in your life know that they are believed, that abuse is never their fault, and that they can always come to you.
• If you suspect a child is being abused, report it. Utah’s Child Abuse Reporting Hotline: 855-323-3237
• Donate to Prevent Child Abuse Utah to help expand this work into every corner of our state.
• You can purchase Rabbi Zippel’s book on Amazon.

Every child deserves to grow up knowing they will be believed. Thank you, Rabbi Avremi Zippel, for helping carry that message forward.