Sexual Abuse Prevention
According to the Connecticut State Department of Children and Families Home Page for the fiscal year of 2006, there were 2,333 allegations of sexual abuse and 574 reports were substantiated in Connecticut. According to Detective Robert Kenary, only 1% -10% of child sexual abuse cases are reported. This is indeed a disturbing statistic.
In an effort to reduce this number, service providers, educators, law enforcement officers and child advocates have often focused on teaching children how to protect themselves from sexual predators. We teach children about “Stranger Danger” but as Detective Kenary reports; between 84% and 95% of sexually abused children, personally know their molester. We teach about Good Touch and Bad Touch but sexual predators may begin with what appears to be harmless touching, such as wrestling or tickling, only to advance to more inappropriate behaviors when a trusting relationship with the child is established. It is unrealistic to expect children to protect themselves from sexual abuse.
The Children’s Trust Fund recognizes the need to transfer this responsibility back to the adults in our community and awarded The Child Guidance Clinic of Greater Waterbury, Inc. a mini grant in the amount of $1000 to develop a project that would support this initiative. The informational brochure entitled: “Do You Have the Knowledge and Power To Prevent the Unthinkable?” is the product of a collaboration with members of the Child Guidance Clinic of Greater Waterbury, Inc. Family Life Center Advisory Committee, Detective Robert F. Kenary and members of the greater Waterbury community. The goal of the brochure is to give adults the tools needed to transfer the responsibility of protecting children from sexual predators to adults where it belongs.