Training can help prevent child abuse

Categories: Other, Things We Like, YMCA
Jan. 26, 2013 @ 03:22 PM
The Herald-Sun
By Susan Gladin, guest columnist

At this stage in my life I am not around children very often, and when I am with Helena, age 9, her mom is usually around too.  If you had asked me if I needed to participate in a workshop on child sexual abuse, I’d have said no.  But I participated recently through my association with the Redwoods Group and the Johnson Intern Program.  Now I realize someone like me can make a big difference in directly reducing the number of children that are sexually abused.

That number is staggering.  One in four girls and one in six boys are sexually abused by age 18.  I had never realized the power that each of us has to reduce those numbers when we are willing to talk about the subject, ask questions and act on our instincts.

Helena’s mom, for example, works at a facility that houses a children’s program.  She had not heard of the ‘Stewards of Children’ training, but is now eager to learn more.  My friend Solita directs a program for middle and high school youth.  She has already inquired about a staff workshop.  When someone like me spreads the word to people who work with children, and they take the training and implement the tools, any number of children will be protected by those very actions and not be abused.

Being spared from abuse is no small thing.  Around 80 percent of abuse survivors are addicted to substances.  Victims report a high degree of mental and physical health issues.  They are often sexually promiscuous following abuse, and more than 60 percent of teenage first pregnancies are preceded by such experiences.  Survivors are more likely to commit crimes.  The toll of child sexual abuse on our society is enormous.

The thing is, we don’t prepare our children to protect themselves from likely abusers, because molesters are most often someone a child knows and trusts – in approximately 60 percent of cases.  We teach our children to be wary of strangers, but we fail to warn them that Uncle Bob or Reverend Joe (men, most often) might be a danger as well.  We will better protect our children when we understand that more than 80 percent of sexual abuse cases occur in one-adult/one-child situations.

Are our schools, day care centers and churches doing enough to reduce the possibility of one-to-one encounters?  We need to ask, and push for change if the answer is “no.”  We also need to trust our instincts and intervene, even when we’re not sure what is going on.  In North Carolina we are required by law to report child abuse of any kind.

Stewards of Children is the only nationally available program scientifically proven to increase knowledge, improve attitudes and change child-protective behaviors. Any responsible adult who cares about the welfare of children should take this workshop. Organizations that serve children and youth will definitely prevent abuse if they participate in this training.

The workshop offers facts about child sexual abuse, raises awareness of situations in which abuse might occur, and gives seven effective strategies for protecting children.  It teaches the signs of sexual abuse and how to intervene and respond responsibly.

There are seven trainings scheduled locally through February 21 through the Darkness to Light Program at CHCYMCA.  For most of us, the trainings are free.  To schedule a training for your own group or organization, email Tricia Smar at  tsmar@chcymca.org. For those wanting contact hours or CE credit, the workshop costs $10 per person for 3 hours.  For those who cannot attend a training, there is an online class you can take here.

The workshop teaches that empowerment comes when we talk openly with adults and children about the subject of sexual abuse.  When we are trained, aware, and willing to ask questions and intervene, abuse is stopped.  I already feel sure that a program in Durham and a school in Orange County will be safer because of the skills I was given last week, and Helena will be safer, too, because her mom and I will always be asking questions.

Susan Gladin is a freelance writer, United Methodist minister, and curriculum coordinator at the Johnson Intern Program in Chapel Hill. She tends horses and a home business on the farm she shares with her husband. Their two grown daughters live nearby. You may e-mail her at sglad1210@aol.com or write c/o The Chapel Hill Herald, 2828 Pickett Road, Durham, NC 27705.

12 responses to “Training can help prevent child abuse

  1. I would love to take this class. I live in Omaha NE and I don’t think we have a workshop here that I could participate in. If there is please let me know. I was a member of Parents United for many years. The program was great but now would like to be in a position of strengthening a child abuse awareness system I believe is still lacking on so many levels. I look forward your response.

    Sincerely,
    Cynthia Petrovich

  2. Hello Cynthia,
    Please contact Project Harmony in Omaha as they have Authorized Facilitators trained to facilitate Stewards of Children child sexual abuse prevention training on staff. http://www.projectharmony.com/
    Thank you for your interest in bringing child sexual abuse prevention to your organization!
    Please let me know if I can help you in any other way,
    Erikar@D2L.org

  3. Good evening,

    May name is Sarah Martins. I am a Brazilian family therapist and sexologist. I have been working as a volunteer in public schools, training teachers on how to prevent sexual abuse.
    I would like to know how the online training works and if it is possible for me to participate in it.

    Looking forward to hearing from you.

    Sarah
    http://www.familiaesexualidade.com.br

  4. Hi Sarah,
    We would love for you is participate in the online training! We will email you over the information. Thank you!

  5. Hi Cathy – I have passed a long your information to our Programs Team who will reach out about the different training options. Thanks!

  6. My name is Lilian Schūler and I am a clinical psychologist working in public hospitals with cutters and addicts. Is it possible to participate in online training?

  7. I believe knowledge is power to prevent. I also concur with statistics of victims later having issues with drugs and emotional distress. This awareness came to me in my early twenties when I met females who had been abused . To my amazement, there were quite a few.

  8. I seen the add for this training in an article for Cosmo. I was interested in taking the online class, but when I hit up the link you guys left it shows up not found. Can someone still learn this?

  9. This is a very nice training and I recommend it for anyone whose work has got something to do with kids especially teachers of children in churches. I handle a teens’ class at church and I intend to teach them about C.S.A.

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