Adults called to help fight child sexual abuse
Workshops offered to teach adults how to recognize, prevent child sexual abuse
Across Chester County, adults can now play a role in helping children to avoid being sexually abused, according to the county’s victim services agency.
The Crime Victims’ Center of Chester County Inc. has announced that it is offering free workshops to adults to learn how to end child sexual abuse. The Stewards of Children workshop, created by the national organization Darkness to Light, is a prevention training course that teaches adults how to recognize, prevent, and react responsibly to instances of child sexual abuse.
“These workshops give adults the tools necessary to protect our children against predators,” said Deborah Ryan, a coordinator with the center and former child abuse prosecutor for the county District Attorney’s Office
“In light of the recent grand jury report about the sexual abuse by priests in Pennsylvania over the past 70 years, people have expressed how helpless and hopeless they feel,” Ryan, who now leads the center’s Safe and Healthy Communities Initiative, said in a statement. “We want the community to know that this program addresses the complex issues surrounding these horrific cases, and it provides prevention strategies on how to stop abuse from happening.”
The program is designed for parents, mandated reporters, organizations that serve youth, and any individual concerned about the safety of children. It is the only nationally distributed, evidence-informed program proven to increase knowledge, improve attitudes, and change child protective behaviors.
The Crime Victim’s Center is a nonprofit organization located in West Chester that provides free, immediate, and confidential crisis response and compassionate support to children and adults victimized by crime and violence through its 24/7 hotlines and advocacy services. Its programs also foster community awareness and understanding through their comprehensive outreach and prevention programs. The Stewards of Children workshops are an extension of the work of the center’s prevention and education department.
The workshop is a twohour in-person or online training program that teaches adults how to have open and honest conversations with children about their bodies, sexual behavior, and proper boundaries. It provides examples on how to reduce or eliminate isolated, one-on-one situations to decrease the risk for abuse. The workshop also teaches adults to recognize the signs of abuse and how to react responsibly if abuse is suspected.
Said Ryan, “One in 10 children experience sexual abuse before age 18, and over 90 percent of those children know their abuser.”
Ryan stated that the impact of abuse can have life-long traumatic consequences for its survivors. Child sexual abuse survivors are three to four times more likely to abuse drugs and alcohol, and twice as likely to drop out of school, have a teenage pregnancy, and suffer serious mental health issues
“This is a public health crisis that needs to be addressed through prevention and education,” she said. “It’s vital that we begin this dialogue as soon as possible in order to effect real change and protect our children.”
The Safe and Healthy Communities Initiative is a three-year program expected to reduce rates of child sexual abuse. The program will educate the community at large, second-grade students, and at-risk parents who have been identified through the county Department of Children, Youth and Family. The program, funded by a grant from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency and the Child Maltreatment Solutions Network at Penn State University is the first of its kind to tackle child sex abuse in such a comprehensive manner.
Free workshops are now available for the community from 6-8 p.m. on Sept. 20 at the Oxford Presbyterian Church, 6 Pine St., in Oxford; from 6:30-8:30 p.m. on Oct. 3, at Paoli Hospital, 255 W. Lancaster Ave. in Paoli, and from 10 a.m. to noon on Oct. 9, at Willowdale Chapel, 675 Unionville Road, Kennett Square.
For more information on the Safe and Healthy Communities Initiative or to schedule free in-person or online workshops, contact Ryan at debr@cvcofcc.org or 610-692-1926 ext. 220.