New Study Shows Prevention Education Benefits All Of Us
During this month of April, as Child Abuse Prevention Month, it’s an opportunity for all of us to think about how child abuse prevention can become more of a priority for our community, then act.
A recent study shared by the National Children’s Alliance, the group that unites and represents Child Advocacy Centers like CARE House around the country, helps remind us - just using what we “think” or our “instincts” as parents is often not enough to keep kids safe.
First, it’s important to remember this month and always that 90% of child sexual abuse is perpetrated by someone we know and trust with our child.
Also, most abuse is preceded with calculated grooming behaviors on the part of the abuser, to gain the child’s trust and to ensure the child’s silence.
Many parents think they have the skills to spot grooming behaviors, but this new study shows both parents and nonparents, viewing the same situations, miss many of the same warning signs. You can read the full study here.
The study concludes, “parents were not more likely than nonparents to recognize sexual grooming behaviors…” and “both parents and nonparents actually overestimate their ability to detect sexual grooming…before it happens.”
When my colleagues and I read this study, and I thought back to my own experiences with my children, it helped remind us why. Why we are so committed to preventing abuse right here in our own backyard. I'd like to share a story from my own life.
My 5th grader was a safety at the crosswalk to the school and worked with the crossing guard there for most of the school year. After 7 months of acting as a crossing guard in the morning once a week, he was walking home after school. He and his friend had left school late and weren’t in a particular hurry to get home. The crossing guard, done with her post and getting all the kids across the street safely, was driving home and saw them. She stopped and offered them a ride the rest of the way. My son was 2 blocks from home, but promptly got in the car with his friend and took the ride. When my neighbor and I realized what had happened later that afternoon, I spoke to my son about it. It didn’t occur to him that this was not a good idea. He didn’t want to or know how to say no to this person he saw on a daily basis. As a parent, I believed I was doing a great job helping my kids understand how to respond to a behavior that easily could have been grooming. Lesson learned, there is always a situation that may surprise you or you haven’t covered with your child.
CARE House's prevention education programs are for anyone who feels responsible for the safety of children. The more we educate and inform adults from all perspectives, the better we’ll be able to stop abuse in its tracks.
To find out how you can participate in or convene a training session, visit our website at: carehouse.org/training-community-outreach-programs, because as we all agree –
It shouldn’t hurt to be child.
Sincerely,
Blythe Tyler
President & CEO