Darkness To Light 5 Days Of Action Days 1 & 2

"April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month," announced Community Education Coordinator Carrie Norvell, "and today is the beginning of the Darkness to Light 5 Days of Action." Each day this week, the Cannon County Child Advocacy Center will share one of the five steps parents, grandparents, and professionals can take to protect children from child sexual abuse.

"A child's safety is an adult's responsibility," continued Norvell. "This week, you'll learn the tools to protect the children in your life."

The first step to changing the outcome of any situation is to Learn the Facts.

One in 10 children will be the victim of child sexual abuse before their 18th birthday. Elementary schools have an average class size of 20 students. This means that two children per classroom come to school every day bearing the burden of child sexual abuse alone.

Seventy percent of all sexual assault cases involve children 17 or younger, which means that children are victimized at a much higher rate than adults. Nine times out of ten, the child knows their abuser, and in about a third of those cases, the perpetrator is a family member. The younger the victim, the more likely the abuse is from a family member.

This is not limited to adult members of the family; 40% of child sexual abuse victims are abused by older or more powerful children. Darkness to Light reports that "juveniles are the offenders in 43% of assaults on children under age six. Of these offenders, 14% are under age 12."

Only 38% of children disclose their abuse, and 62% never tell anyone, even when they become adults. Every day, 400,000 babies are born who will become victims of child sexual abuse. More than half suffer in silence their entire lives.

"It can be easy to become disheartened by these statistics. But acknowledging a hard truth is the first step to making impactful change," concluded Norvell. "Watch for the Darkness to Light 5 Days of Action news articles this week and learn how we can work together to reduce child sexual abuse in our community."

"The last thing any parent wants to learn is that their child is being sexually abused," said Child Advocacy Center Director Sharon De Boer. "You can reduce the opportunity for your child to be victimized by being alert and paying attention to the situations our children are in."

Eighty percent of child sexual abuse happens in isolated one-on-one situations. The Darkness to Lightchild sexual abuse prevention training has tips to help parents, grandparents, and professionals minimize the opportunity for child sexual abuse to occur.

You can keep your children safe through the following steps:

Reduce Risk:

• Think carefully about the safety of any isolated, one-on-one settings. Make sure interactions with children can be observed and interrupted. Choose group situations when possible.
• Think carefully about the safety of situations in which older youth have access to younger children. Make sure that multiple adults are present who can supervise.
• Set an example by personally avoiding isolated, one-on-one situations with children other than your own. Explain to your children that this should be standard practice.
• Understand that abusers often become friendly with potential victims and their families, enjoying family activities, earning trust, and gaining time alone with children.
• Monitor your children's Internet use. Offenders use the Internet to lure children into physical contact.

Develop Policies that Reduce or Eliminate Isolated, One-on-One Situations in Youth-Serving Organizations:

• These policies should ensure that all activities can be observed and interrupted.
• Talk with program administrators about the supervision of older youth who have responsibility for the care of younger children.
• Insist on screenings that include criminal background checks, personal interviews, and professional recommendations for all adults who serve children. Avoid programs that do not use all of these methods.
• Insist that youth-serving organizations train their staff and volunteers to prevent, recognize, and react responsibly to child sexual abuse.
• Ensure that youth-serving organizations have policies for dealing with suspicious situations and reports of abuse.

Get Other Community Members Involved with Child Sexual Abuse Prevention:

Children need one-on-one interactions with other children and adults. It allows them to become individuals, create friendships, and build support systems outside of the family. It builds self-esteem and deepens relationships. To protect children while allowing them to nurture these relationships:

• Drop in unexpectedly when the child is alone with an adult or another youth, even if it is a trusted family member.
• Make sure outings are observable - if not by you, then by others.
• Ask adults about the specifics of planned activities before the child leaves your care. Notice their ability to be specific.
• Talk with the child following the activity. Notice the child's mood and whether he or she can tell you with confidence how the time was spent.
• Find a way to tell adults who care for children that you and the child are educated about child sexual abuse. Be that direct. Do not let an uncomfortable topic stop you from protecting a vulnerable child.

"You cannot be with your child all the time, but you can protect them all the time. The best way is to stop child sexual abuse before it starts is by minimizing the opportunity for a perpetrator to come in contact with your child," concluded De Boer.

Stay tuned this week for the Darkness to Light 5 Days of Action news articles and learn the next 3 steps.

Contact Amanda Hammond or Carrie Norvell at (615) 653-9915 or ahammond@cannoncac.org or cnorvell@cacrutherford.orgto schedule a Darkness to Light child sexual abuse training for your church, business, civic organization, or PTO.