Biden unveils anti-abuse program
Former vice president introduces partnership to train medical staff to recognize, prevent child sexual abuse
More than 27,000 adults in Delaware have already been trained in the Darkness to Light Stewards of Children program, which is designed to teach adults how to recognize signs of, react responsibly to and prevent child sexual abuse.
A new partnership between the Beau Biden Foundation for the Protection of Children and Doylestown Health, announced during a presentation Oct. 10 in the Ann’s Choice retirement community in Warminster, makes Doylestown Health the first health care organization outside Delaware to be part of the program, Doylestown Health CEO James Brexler said. Under the partnership, the health system’s medical staff will receive the two-
hour training.
The ultimate goal is for the program to continue to spread and become nationwide, said former Vice President Joe Biden, the father of Beau Biden, former Delaware attorney general, who died in 2015.
“Children can’t speak for themselves. We have to speak for them and act on their behalf,” Biden said. “That’s what Beau did and that’s what this foundation does and that’s what this partnership does.”
Child sexual abuse is a “dirty little secret” that people don’t like to talk about, but one that must be exposed,
“It’s not just the abuse when it happens. It’s the lifelong impact of that abuse and it’s real.” — Former Vice President Joe Biden
Biden said.
“Child sex abuse is the leading health risk in children,” he said. “One in 10 children will be molested by the time they are 18 years old.”
For children with disabilities, the rate is even higher, he said.
“Thirty-five percent of the victims of child abuse are under the age of 11,” Biden said. “Ninety-three percent of them are abused by someone they know and trust.”
Brexler said Doylestown Health is excited to be part of the new partnership.
“It so fits our mission, which is outreach to the community and health and wellness, and opening doors to people’s understanding and appreciation of where the risks of our society are and what we can do about them,” he said.
Some of the children brought to the emergency room turn out to have relatively minor health issues, he said, but there are others for whom that’s not the case.
“Many times there’s a deeper, darker issue that’s going on and part of this education is for us inside our health care organization to be appreciative of and sensitive and understand what those signs are and give us a chance to pick up on problems of abuse that, unfortunately, in spite of all our efforts, still it’s a problem in our world today and in our community,” Brexler said.
Funding for the partnership comes from ShopRite of Warminster.
“This cause is very important to me, not only because of other children, but because of my own three children,” ShopRite of Warminster owner Joe Cowhey said.
Two of his children were adopted after having been foster children, he said.
As a foster parent, he learned about “real things that happen and they’re not good things,” Cowhey said.
He said it’s important that people learn how to react to signs of child abuse.
“That’s the reason we’re here today,” he said.
“All of you are here because of your commitment to protecting children,” Biden told those in attendance.
There are lifelong implications to abuse, he said, with the scars showing in ways such as abuse victims being more likely to fall prey to alcoholism or drug addiction, drop out of school or be a pregnant teenager.
“It’s not just the abuse when it happens. It’s the lifelong impact of that abuse and it’s real,” Biden said.
As a child, he was taught that abuse of power is the greatest sin and that violence against women or children was a cardinal sin, he said.
“Beau committed his life to shining a great light on child abuse,” Biden said.
Biden, whose wife, Dr. Jill Biden, grew up in the area, reminded audience members of those connections, saying, “It’s good to be back in Bucks County.”
Beau Biden addressed child abuse as a community problem, not an individual one, his father said.
“Beau knew that we had to change the culture,” Biden said.
The new partnership will save lives and make the community stronger and safer, he said.
“We want child predators to know Bucks County will not be safe for them,” Biden said.