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April is Child Abuse Prevention Month |
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Wednesday, April 01 2009 |
BY BROOKE HUFF
REPORTER
According to Emily Ellis, Development Director for The Bridge Child Advocacy Center in Amarillo, it has been said that the test of a society’s morality is what it does for its children.
It has been reported that one in four children will be sexually abused before the age of 18. In reality, however, this number is much higher because statistics reflect only those who report the abuse. To do more for the children of the world, April has been designated as Child Abuse Prevention and Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
Although nobody likes to talk about or acknowledge its existence, sexual assault of children is a reality for many children throughout the world, Ellis said. It is important for society to fight the temptation to maintain an illusion that sexual assault and other violence toward children does not occur in homes, neighborhoods, churches, schools, and community centers in our own communities. To do so, Ellis said, it is simply creating a false sense of security and deters from actually being able to take action to alleviate the problem.
“Intervention has to take place to protect children, to get them to a place of healing and to restore their childhood,” Ellis said.
According to Ellis, sexual abuse can be any act performed with a child, to a child or in the presence of a child for the gratification of another. It can include inappropriate touching or physical contact, intercourse and pornography, as well as on-line enticements. Ellis said that typically the abuser is someone the child knows, with the majority of perpetrators being family members, friends of the family or individuals entrusted with the care of the child. In less than one percent of the cases referred to The Bridge is the alleged offender a complete stranger to the child, she said.
For children going through an abusive situation, nothing is more terrifying than the thought of having to tell others what has happened and to potentially confront their abusers, Ellis said. In many cases, the child does not report the abuse, refuses to talk about it or denies that anything even happened. As a result, if a child hints, even in a vague way, that sexual abuse has occurred, it is very important to listen to them. When a child does report the abuse, it is often in a piecemeal manner to see how others will react and determine their trustworthiness.
Ellis has given a few suggestions on how to handle the report, if the child does decide to disclose the abuse to you:
-Tell the child that you believe them
-Assure the child that they did the right thing in telling
-Be supportive of the child
-Be careful of scaring the child by exhibiting strong emotions, such as anger
-Allow the child to tell you what happened, and do not question them once they are through talking
-Do not make the child tell their story to others
-Report it immediately
-Do not take the law into your own hands or confront the perpetrator
-Seek help in coping with the incident
“Tell the child that they are not alone, that they matter and that no one has the right to treat them badly,” Ellis said.
Working to prevent child abuse is everyone’s job, she said. This can be done by knowing the child’s friends, families, youth group leaders, teachers or other people that spend time alone with them, providing supervision at extra-curricular activities, malls, public restrooms, etc., explaining to the child what to do if someone tries to look at or touch them inappropriately, and telling them that they have the right to say “no.” Also, Ellis said that it’s important to understand that no one should want to be with your child more than you and to listen to your intuition.
According to Texas Code 261.101, a person having cause to believe that a child’s physical or mental health or welfare has been or may be adversely affected by abuse or neglect must report it to the proper authorities. Failure to report, Ellis said, is punishable by imprisonment for up to 180 days and/or a fine up to $2,000.00. To report child report, call 1-800-252-5400, log on to www.txabusehotline.org, or contact the local law enforcement.
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Last Updated ( Thursday, April 02 2009 )
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