Child sexual abuse is predictable and preventable when we surround children with knowledgeable and outspoken adults.
Registration is now open: What Is Your Big Idea to End Violence Against Women Online Event taking place December 1st from 7p - 9p CT. This is a FREE online event! Details below.
Read more: What is Your Big Idea to End Violence Against Women?
On September 29, 2014, California Governor signs a version of Erin's Law, requiring the State Department of Education to prepare and provide a curriculum framework for child sexual abuse awareness and prevention training for children. The bill also authorizes schools to deliver such training but fell short of my hope in that it only encourages the state board to consider including age appropriate training, but does not require it. Still a huge step in the right direction!
We have seen story after story about predators in the place that is supposed to be our place of restoration and refuge -THE CHURCH. Truth is, the child molester has found sanctuary in the church because church goers want so desperately to believe that everyone who attends church is good, or at the very least has some redemptive quality within them.
The sexual abuser/pedophile/molester/predator often looks and acts just like everybody else. We often have this vision of the creepy man in a trench-coat who lurks around unassumingly or the perverted looking guy who drives the ice cream truck. However, while some predators may in fact look like those characters, most often, the predator is a "normal looking" member of society. They may even be well respected members of their community. Typically, they are likable individuals who work everyday and would by all accounts be classified as an all-around "nice guy" if we surveyed their neighbors, friends, and family.
