We all must be watchdogs for signs of abuse
Recent news stories have brought the issue of sexual and severe abuse of children to the forefront of public attention.
The Children’s Memorial Flag is still flying in front of the Memphis Child Advocacy Center (CAC) in memory of 2-year-old Jermyle Campbell. Jermyle’s mother is facing first-degree murder charges in his death. Such tragedies elicit tremendous feelings of sadness, anger and even hopelessness. Our challenge is to channel those feelings into constructive action.
The incidents we see in the news reflect a much larger issue. A recent study showed that 52 percent of Shelby County adults have experienced childhood trauma: sexual, physical and emotional abuse, neglect, domestic violence, household substance abuse or other severe family dysfunction. Twenty percent reported sexual abuse in childhood — double the national rate.
Early childhood trauma can disrupt children’s social and emotional development. Even in the first years of life, children are developing the skills that prepare them to become secure, self-confident and independent.
Healthy social and emotional development means that children develop trust, empathy and the ability to engage in healthy relationships. The negative effects of trauma on development start early and often continue throughout life.
The toll on our community is great.
Children exposed to abuse and neglect have much higher rates of social problems, mental illness and serious physical ailments in adulthood. Childhood maltreatment, for example, is correlated with lower grade-point averages and difficulty completing homework assignments in school.
Adults who suffered adverse childhood experiences have significantly higher rates of financial difficulties and absenteeism. Sexual abuse survivors are up to three times more likely to develop addictions. And, of course, these issues are expensive as well as heartbreaking.
The root causes of abuse are complex — and the solutions are multifaceted.
Child abuse is a community problem, and no single agency has the necessary skills, resources and knowledge to provide all the assistance abused children and their families need.
The Memphis CAC is proud to be part of a network of agencies across Shelby County that offer programs to encourage healthy parenting practices and to prevent abuse and neglect. Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital and Porter Leath have evidence-based programs that provide intensive inhome support and training for young, pregnant and parenting women and girls. Programs such as Universal Parenting Places and the Exchange Club Family Center also assist struggling parents.
The CAC has provided its evidence-based Stewards of Children child sexual abuse prevention and response training to nearly 14,000 Shelby County parents and caregivers. Parents who take Stewards of Children learn how to talk to their children about personal and sexual boundaries.
Participants learn that all adults are mandated to report incidents of abuse, that it is common for children to keep silent about the abuse and that nearly 40 percent of sexual abuse is initiated by an older or stronger youth.
Our agency also provides support to a team of agencies that investigate and intervene in cases of sexual and severe abuse. The Shelby County Child Protection Investigation Team, headquartered at the CAC, is based on a model demonstrated to increase effectiveness of community intervention. National research on the child advocacy center multidisciplinary model indicates a savings of $1,000 per case when a child advocacy center is involved. Thousands of children have been helped and countless lives saved.
The program also shows organizations how to put effective policy in practice that helps stop sexual abuse before it starts.
Shelby County’s commitment to preventing abuse is strong. County Mayor Mark Luttrell is leading the way with his recent commitment to provide Stewards of Children training to 2,500 Shelby County employees, one of the largest institutional commitments to date.
As a community, we must not give up on any child.
Yet, despite all our progress, there are struggling parents who never get connected to the programs that can help them. Some parents appear to resist help at every turn. All the progress we have made did not help Jermyle Campbell.
We need to continually improve the ways we engage families with needed assistance and to hold parents accountable for the welfare and the social and emotional development of their children. Each of us must be a watchdog for children. There is action every member of our community can take to help children at risk.
Whether it is connecting a stressed parent with resources, volunteering at organizations that help families at risk or reporting a suspicion of abuse or neglect, the more people who take action, the more children we can save.
I encourage you to reach out to us, or any of the organizations mentioned in this column, to ask how you can get involved.