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SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- It takes a lot of courage for victims to come forward about child sexual abuse, and a forum held at Syracuse University aimed to spark a discussion to give people that courage.

Advocacy groups from Syracuse University held the forum Tuesday night at Hendricks Chapel in hopes of educating the university and the community about signs of sexual abuse and the available support.
Their main message - people should speak up if they notice abuse or if they were abused at some point.

"As you have heard from the adult male survivors, is that it is very difficult because they live with that shame and that guilt and that is obviously not their fault. So I think it is very difficult for an adult survivor to come forward," said Julie Cecile, McMahon/Ryan Child Advocacy Site Executive Director.

"You're not alone. You can get through it. There's hope. There's healing. You know there's a life after this. One of the questions we had just briefly was "Is there's healing from it", and the short answer really is, yes," said David Hubert, Child Sexual Abuse Survivor.

This the second forum put together on child sexual abuse since allegations were made against SU's assistant basketball coach Bernie Fine, who has since been fired.

If you suspect child abuse, organizers encourage you to call the New York State Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-342-3720.