April is Child Abuse Prevention Month. As part of our commitment to protecting the children in our community, we’re participating in the Five Days of Action - a week-long campaign to increase awareness of child sexual abuse and empower and equip us all to prevent it.
Through this campaign and our year-round implementation of abuse prevention practices, we are dedicated to protecting the children in our area. We are also taking part in the Know. See. Respond. program, which focuses on preventing sexual abuse in summer camp and youth sports and internet safety. We are grateful to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, U.S. Center for SafeSport and Praesidium for providing invaluable resources for the campaign.
Our goal is to have the community Know, See, and Respond to protect children.
Know: Summer Camp
KNOWing about child sexual abuse can help adults gain a better understanding of what to look for and how to prevent it. As parents, caregivers, and adults who are trusted by the young people in our lives, we possess a great responsibility to protect them from abuse. To fulfill this obligation, we must always strive to increase our knowledge, and to ask pertinent questions about the safety of our loved ones.
The Y – and other youth serving organizations – implement a series of measures to keep the kids in their care safe. Next time you enroll your loved one in a new program, such as youth sports in Licking County and Muskingum County, be sure to ask them about their child protection practices. For this summer, you can use this list.
See: Youth Sports
When we SEE boundaries being crossed or suspected child abuse, we need to take it seriously. Sports should be a place of growth and safety for children and all those associated with them. As a parent, caregiver, coach, or volunteer, it is your responsibility to create a safe and secure environment for all of the children under your care. Learn more about the warning signs of child sexual abuse in youth sports and how to prevent it at the US Center For Safe Sport.
Respond: Internet Safety
Did you know that you don’t need evidence to report abuse—only reasonable suspicion? But even for adults, reporting abuse is hard. We don’t want to falsely accuse someone or get someone in trouble. On the other hand, reporting might be the one thing that saves a child – or children – from abuse. It is our duty as adults to be proactive when it comes to protecting children from potential abuse. When we learn of any form of abuse—whether it is through disclosure, discovery or reasonable suspicion—we must RESPOND in order to safeguard the well-being of children.
With the rise in digital tools used in school, work and socialization, online safety has become more important than ever. Cyber bullying, online enticement and other online dangers put children at risk of sexual abuse. To help prevent this, it is important to maintain an open line of communication with any children in your care who may be accessing online content. To learn more about the facts, how you can keep kids safe and how to respond to online victimization, please visit https://www.missingkids.org/netsmartz.
We take our commitment to child protection seriously and we hope you do too. Check out our child care, child watch, and Summer Day Camp programs to find out how we keep your children safe and healthy in Licking County, Muskingum County, and West Licking County.