We can prevent child abuse
April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month, and it’s being observed statewide by Prevent Child Abuse Virginia and locally by Greater Richmond SCAN (Stop Child Abuse Now). Because of the Penn State scandal and other events in the news, SCAN is focused on raising awareness about childhood sexual abuse this year.
As the mom of a young child, I am horrified by the statistics. By the time they reach their 18th birthdays, 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys will have been sexually abused.
More than 90% of children who are sexually abused know their abusers: either family members or other people the family trusts. And it’s not just the adults who surround our children we need to watch out for; nearly 40% of children who are sexually abused are victims at the hands of older or larger children.
I could get overwhelmed with this information if I only focused on the statistics. So I’m choosing to focus on prevention. What can we as concerned adults do? The first thing is to get educated. Learn about the facts—for instance, perpetrators often groom their victims, taking an interest in them, buying them things, or doing fun activities with them to build their trust. Know the adults and other children in your child’s life.
We can also make sure the organizations of which we are a part have child protection policies in place. For instance, at my church, everyone who volunteers with children in any capacity has to go through a child protection training. No adult – whether a youth group leader, Sunday School teacher, or choir parent – can be in a room of children by themselves. Two adults are always present. All places kids frequent should have such policies.
We can also talk to our kids. I find this part really hard. I hate doing anything that bursts the bubble of innocence. But it’s imperative as parents and caregivers that we talk about things like “good touch, bad touch” and identify for our children the safe adults in their lives.
It’s easy to feel powerless in the face of such daunting statistics. But if we all choose to do just one or two things, we can make our community a safer place. Find out what you can do locally by going to SCAN’s website, www.grscan.com.
