Florida’s schools can play a big role in preventing child sexual abuse
Every nine minutes, a child is a victim of sexual abuse and assault. Florida ranks third in the nation in calls to the National Human Trafficking hotline. And 70% to 90% of commercially exploited youth have a history of child sexual abuse.
We hear about it far too often–family members, friends, neighbors, teachers, coaches, pastors, priests, political, and business leaders are charged with sexual assault. Awareness of these offenders and those victims being grotesquely violated and trafficked is not enough: the abuse needs to be stopped before it happens and our schools must play a role in this prevention.
One in four girls and 1 in 13 boys will report they were sexually abused by the age of 18. Sexual abuse and human trafficking can have long-lasting physical and emotional effects. As devastating as this public health crisis is, sexual abuse and these long-term effects can be prevented through education.
Twenty-eight states, including Florida, and the District of Columbia, had passed legislation mandating instruction within schools on child sexual abuse awareness and prevention, as of January 2023. Unfortunately, 14 states have no laws in place. Every educator and every student across the U.S. should be equipped with the knowledge needed to prevent child sexual abuse. It is necessary to implement a public health approach to make a seismic difference in stopping abuse and human trafficking.
Such an approach includes creating a system of awareness, education, prevention, support and treatment in communities. Like the public health approach model used for wearing seat belts to prevent injury and death, we must change the societal behavior and norms around sexual abuse. The long-term health and safety benefits of increasing traumaaware adults correlate to decreasing all types of child abuse — sexual, physical and emotional abuse and neglect. This can lead to higher educational achievement, less involvement with the criminal justice system, and better physical health and social outcomes.
Educational institutions play a critical role in reaching our students and teachers and beyond to our parents, families and communities. We must use our schools as the grounds for preventing sexual abuse and creating positive childhood experiences and positive community experiences.
Intervention and prevention must start in early childhood and continue through elementary, middle and high school. The comprehensive public health approach to addressing child sexual abuse within schools includes: trauma-informed training and education for our teachers and parents/caregivers; quality health education for our students and teachers, inclusive of sexual abuse awareness and prevention; connecting students to mental healthcare professionals for treatment, either within or outside the school walls; increasing the capacity for students to access mental health services; and creating environments where students feel connected and supported.
At the Center for Child Counseling, a non-profit that supports schools, teachers, students and caregivers, we embrace this public health model and want to ensure every student across the United States is protected and safe from abuse. We recently launched bekidsafe.org–a platform for educators and other professionals to easily access online training to learn how to keep children safe through effective strategies that prevent abuse, build safety and communication skills, promote positive relationships and resilience and identify risk early.
The health, wellness and protection of children in today’s challenging times should not be left to families to struggle in isolation. Feeling safe and protected is vital to a child’s development.
Find out what the schools in your community are doing to support the health and protection of their students. Encourage your teachers and school leaders to seek the proper training and provide the necessary resources to promote healthier families, schools and communities where every child is safe from abuse.