As April is Child Abuse Prevention Month, we celebrate that Safe Harbor Child Advocacy Center has made great strides combating child abuse in our community since we began in 2005. Our community response to reported child abuse has improved county-wide due to many factors, but at the top of the list is our dedicated staff and the Child Protective Investigative Team members, encompassing all law enforcement agencies that serve our county including the TBI & FBI, the District Attorney General’s Office, and the Tennessee Department of Child Safety, that we work with every day.
We’ve learned that child abuse knows no economic, educational, ethnic, profession or gender boundaries and that it is primarily an adult problem with our children as the innocent victims. As a result, the adults in our community must understand that only we have the power to protect our children by arming them with truth and knowledge. What has been a taboo topic of conversation in the past is coming out of the shadows to be discussed openly in a healthy and age appropriate way. Community leaders are becoming more involved with helping us find a solution and are taking a stand to support our efforts. Legislators are involved in strengthening our state’s laws and penalties for harming a child. School officials and teachers are more aware of the prevalence of the problem and how to report suspicions, all the while learning how to protect the children entrusted to their care. Church officials are coming to terms with the fact that child abuse happens within faith-based organizations as well, and last but certainly not least, parents are learning how to protect their children by talking to them about bullying, internet safety, safe and unsafe touches, sexting and other issues that have been uncomfortable conversations in the past, but are absolutely imperative today.
All are learning that unless they open the dialogue with them that our children will not have the resources to protect themselves when they are not with them. Instead they will learn from other sources, including their peers, social media, or even worse child predators that wish them harm. It is not difficult for us to begin explaining to our children by the time they are learning to walk and talk that people should not touch them where their bathing suit covers except to keep them clean and healthy, and that if anyone makes them feel uncomfortable by unwanted touches or if anyone hurts them that they should tell a trusted grown-up and to keep telling until someone listens to them and takes them seriously.
We at Safe Harbor are thankful for our community’s response to this difficult but very real problem, but know that we still have much work yet to do in educating the public in general because only together can we protect our children. If you would like more information on how you can help protect our children, please contact Safe Harbor Child Advocacy Center at 865-774-1777.
Submitted by Donna J. Koester, Executive Director.
For more information about Safe Harbor Child Advocacy Center, please visit their website:
http://www.safeharborcac.com/
