Every Child Deserves a Happy and Healthy Childhood.

In response to the newly-released report from the US Government Accountability Office on sexual abuse by school personnel, Prevent Child Abuse America released a Statement today - here - "Every Child Deserves a Happy and Healthy Childhood." We hope you will take a look and let us know if you have any questions. We have also pasted an excerpt below.

"Prevent Child Abuse America agrees with the position in the newly-released report from the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) on sexual abuse by school personnel that “we must all expand our efforts to ensure that children have safe and secure learning communities,” especially with the idea that we cannot rely exclusively on the government to do so.

We all have a role to make schools a safe and healthy experience for all children regardless of where they live. For example, parents and guardians should talk to children regularly about what they’re doing, where they spend their time, and who they are spending it with, which can help identify possible problems.

Similarly, experts can be brought in to work with schools to develop support systems that promote a sexually safe and healthy climate for both students and faculty so that educators and administrators will be better able to support the prevention work that parents are doing at home, and parents should feel empowered to ask questions of the administrators."

Prevent Child Abuse America in The Christian Science Monitor.

Prevent Child Abuse America was invited by The Christian Science Monitor to comment on the latest stage in the Jerry Sandusky child sexual abuse case and the decision to allow him to visit with his grandchildren. We hope you will take a look at the interview in its entirety - here - though we specifically want to draw your attention to the below quote from Prevent Child Abuse America's President & CEO James M. Hmurovich.

“Under no condition should children be put in a position to defend themselves,” Hmurovich says. “It is an adult’s responsibility to keep the child safe, not the child’s.” 

Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Advocate Rates Sandusky Media Coverage a “C.”

In a Ms. Foundation funded study released today on the early media coverage of the Penn State child sexual abuse case, "Breaking News on child sexual abuse: Early coverage of Penn State," the Berkeley Media Studies Group found that the coverage not only missed an opportunity to focus on prevention, but on the potential solutions for preventing child sexual abuse before it ever occurs. We believe that all adults play a role in preventing child sexual abuse, and given this, we hope that you will not only revisit our initial post here regarding our thoughts on the case and how we can all become better educated about this issue, but that you will also consider contacting the Prevent Child Abuse America in your state here to see how you might support their prevention efforts as well. 

Prevent Child Abuse America's response, including suggested next steps, to ESPN regarding their possession of a taped conversation pertaining to the Bernie Fine sexual abuse allegations for almost ten years before coming forward with it.

November 30, 2011 

George W. Bodenheimer, President 

ESPN Inc. 

935 Middle Street 

Bristol, CT 06011 

Dear Mr. Bodenheimer, 

I am very concerned after reading yesterday’s story that ESPN possessed a taped conversation pertaining to the Bernie Fine sexual abuse allegations for almost ten years before coming forward with it. The mission of our organization is to prevent child abuse and neglect before it ever occurs. This mission is helped when we engage individuals, organizations and “institutions” to recognize a collective responsibility to ensure our nation’s children have an opportunity for healthy child development. 

When abuse is not prevented, or there is reason to believe that abuse is occurring, we all have a collective responsibility to report the abuse or suspicion of abuse, provide support to the child victim and develop protocols and strategies to decrease the likelihood of a subsequent incident to the child or other children. 

We all play a role to ensure that these strategies exist in the communities and neighborhoods in which we live. The recent incidents at Penn State and Syracuse University indicate that there is some confusion about the appropriate response by individuals and organizations when allegations such as these arise. This confusion must be eliminated through deliberate actions by responsible adults who share a common vision that all children have the right to a happy and abuse-free childhood. 

I believe the controversy around these cases and how they have been handled provides both of us with an opportunity to join forces and advance this cause and further educate the public that we not only all play a role in children’s lives, but that all adults are responsible for the prevention of child sexual abuse. Given this, I would like to propose that our respective organizations partner to: 

• Provide both sexual abuse prevention training to your staff and reporters; 

• Develop a special episode of Outside the Lines that provides parents and communities with vital sexual abuse prevention information and tips; and/or, 

• Create a series of public service announcements to advocate for public policies that support sexual abuse prevention programming. 

I believe that together we have the chance to make a meaningful impact in the lives of children. We will follow-up in the near future to explore the ways in which we may accomplish this. In the meantime, feel free to contact me at (312) 663-3520, extension 810. 

Sincerely, 

James M. Hmurovich

President & CEO