By Beverly Engel
“It is not a safe place out there anymore and parents need to wake up to this.” — Maria Shriver
“You can’t expect children to protect themselves.” — Erin Runnion, mother of Samantha Runnion, on the Larry King Show
• In Richmond, California, a 15 year old high school student was brutally raped by at least 10 young men while another 10 watched and offered no help.
• In Phoenix, Arizona, four boys, ages 9 to 14 took turns raping an 8-year-old girl.
• In 2007 a reported 248,300 children were sexually abused in the United States.
• Incest has been cited as the most common form of child abuse. Over 10 million Americans have been victims of incest.
I know that I am not alone when I tell you that I am appalled when I hear about these cases and read these figures. I am dismayed at the number of children who are victims of sexual abuse each year. And I am disgusted at the number of high school and college girls who experience alcohol and drug facilitated rape each year, often at the hands of boys they had previously called “friends.”
I know that many of you reading this are equally appalled. So what can we do to stop these horrible crimes? What can each of us do to better protect our children?
To start with, we all must face some painful truths: about ourselves, about the way we treat our children, and about the way we view child molesters. We must confront our denial, our lack of information, and our tendency to believe that good people can’t do bad things.
Unlike many other social problems that often go unsolved because of complicated political issues, the eradication of child sexual abuse is within our power. Each and every one of us has the power to make a significant difference in the lives of the children around us.
To this end, The Hays-Caldwell Women’s Center is presenting two opportunities for parents and other interested community members to learn more about how to protect our children from child sexual abuse and our teens from sexual assault. On Monday, Nov. 16 at the First Christian Church in San Marcos and on Wednesday, Nov. 18 at Lockhart High in Lockhart, you can learn about a comprehensive and innovative program designed to educate, illuminate and empower you so that you can become a “Guardian of Innocence.” Both programs run from 6-8 p.m. and snacks will be served.
In addition to talking about how parents and other interested community members can better protect our children, we will also be presenting workshops for children. Four age-appropriate workshops will be offered, including:
• K-3rd Grade: “Welcome versus Unwelcome Touch”
• 4th-5th Grade: “No Bully for Me—Dealing with Bullies Everywhere.”
• 6th-8th Grade: “Speaking Your Mind, Even When Your Voice Shakes.”
• High School: “Love Game? Learn What Sexual Assault is Really All About and How to Take a Stand.”
At Hays-Caldwell Women’s Center we believe that child sexual abuse is everyone’s problem. Most children who are sexually abused grow up with major emotional and often physical problems. According to the American Medical Association, a fifth of all victims develop serious long-term psychological problems, including signs of post-traumatic-stress disorder, chronic states of arousal, nightmares, flashbacks and anxiety over sex or exposure of the body during medical exams. Many will encounter significant relationship and sexual problems as they reach adulthood. These problems severely impact their intimate partners who often end up needing to seek psychological counseling themselves.
Children who are abused are more likely to become criminal offenders than those who are not abused. One expert estimates that 40 percent of sexual abusers were sexually abused as children. In addition, victims of child sexual abuse are 27.7 times more likely to be arrested for prostitution as adults than non-victims. Some victims become sexual abusers or prostitutes because they have a difficult time relating to others except on sexual terms.
For more information on either evening, call 396-3404.
