HOW DO WE PROTECT OUR CHILDREN ???

- Reported cases of child sexual abuse reached epidemic proportions, with a reported 322 percent increase from 1980 to 1990.
-278 percent increase from 1990 to 2000
-150 million girls and 73 million boys under 18 experienced forced sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual violence during 2006.

Rate of child abuse by race:
- White = 51%
- African American = 25%
- Hispanic = 15%
- American Indian/Alaska Natives = 2% - Asian/Pacific Islanders = 1%

I ran across these statistics today while I was surfing the Internet. I found them to be very disturbing. At first, I was not sure if this topic was appropriate for me to blog about, but then I reconsidered. This issue is out there. It is real and it happens every day. If you are wondering what prompted this blog, I will tell you. There is a new commercial on TV that is for a sexual abuse intervention group. It starts out by saying....1 in 9 boys, and 1 in 4 girls will be a victim of sexual abuse before the age of 14. This prompted me to wonder......... " HOW DO WE PROTECT OUR CHILDREN?". It also claims that a child is more likely to be the victim of abuse than to be involved in an automobile accident. These statistics are staggering, if not just a little scary. The worst part of these statistics, is that it only reflects reported incidents. How many more children are out there hurting that no one knows about? I myself was a victim when I was younger, but this was long ago and has been worked out and put behind me. I will not pretend that it was not hard, and that it did not affect me, but I got through it and moved on. I would just hope that all parents in this busy world of today, would slow down long enough to think about who they have their children around. In a time of babysitter shortages and after-school activities, parents need to take the time to get to know the people their children spend time with. Do not be afraid to talk to your children. Teach them about good touching and bad touching, and make sure that your children know that they can trust you and talk to you about anything. Fear of punishment and being blamed are the two top reasons why abuse goes unreported. Children also feel that the abuse is in some way their fault. These feelings of guilt keep these statistics much lower than they probably are in reality. Be open w/ your children and make sure they know you are there for them unconditionally. For more information on this topic see the following website....

www.prevent-abuse-now.com