April is Child Abuse Prevention Month!
Preventing child abuse is at the heart of the work ANFRC and our member Family Resource Centers do. Child abuse and neglect can have long-lasting consequences for children’s physical, social-emotional, mental, and ecomonic health. April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month, and we’re joining our partner agencies in raising awareness and educating our communities so that we’re all better equipped to protect children. It’s up to all of us to ensure that children and families are nurtured and get the opportunity to thrive.
While child sexual abuse occurs across all strata of society, research shows that other types of physical abuse and neglect occur at higher rates in socially and economically marginalized groups. Factors like discrimination, racism, and economic insecurity can exaccerbate normal parental stress, diminishing parents’ ability to keep calm and care for their children. We employ the Strengthening Families™ framework, which focuses on alleviating pressure on parents and shoring up family strengths and resiliency. This approach is bolstered by information from the CDC about risk factors and protective factors on an individual, family, and community level. Learn more here.
Child Sexual Abuse
It is critical that parents educate their children about sexual abuse; lack of understanding can make children more vulnerable. Here are some tips from the National Children's Advocacy Center for how to approach this difficult subject.
Perpetrators of child sexual abuse can be people of any age, race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, educational, or socioeconomic status. It’s important to remember that 90% of child sexual abuse is perpetrated by someone in a child’s community that they already know. Learn more about the tactics perpetrators use so that you can be alert and protect the children in your community.
Here’s how to respond if a child comes forward about being abused:
Stay calm and listen to the child
Tell the child you believe them and are glad they told you
Tell the child that what happened is not their fault.
Report the disclosure to professionals for investigation and help.
Do not conduct your own investigation.
Keep Learning & Spreading Awareness!
Here is a list of educational and awareness-raising resources from Building Better Childhoods and a very comprehensive list of resources from the CDC. For guidance on how to report child abuse and neglect, check out this information from Child Welfare Information Gateway. Read more and pass them along!
