• White House Proclamation
  • Goals
    • Condemn and combat child abuse – physical, emotional, sexual, and online sexual exploitation
    • Heighten awareness of risk factors
    • Highlight importance of supporting families
  • Child abuse occurs at all socioeconomic and educational levels, and in all religious, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds
  • Key tool for fighting child abuse is prevention
• Child Abuse Statists – Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  • At least 1 in 7 children have experienced abuse or neglect in the past year
    • In 2019, there were 73 million children in U.S.
  • In 2019, 1,840 children died from abuse and/or neglect
  • Long-term economic burden of child abuse and neglect is enormous
    • 2015 estimate – $428 billion, comparable to economic costs of strokes and Type 2 diabetes
  • Risk factors
    • Risk Factors for Individual Perpetrators
      • Caregivers with drug or alcohol issues
      • Caregivers with mental health issues, including depression
      • Caregivers who don’t understand children’s needs or development
      • Caregivers who were abused or neglected as children
      • Caregivers who are young or single parents or parents with many children
      • Caregivers with low education or income
      • Caregivers experiencing high levels of parenting stress and economic stress
      • Caregivers who use spanking and other forms of corporal punishment for discipline
      • Caregivers in the home who are not a biological parent
      • Caregivers with attitudes accepting of or justifying violence or aggression
    • Risk Factors for Families
      • Families that have family members in jail or prison
      • Families that are isolated from and not connected to other people (extended family, friends, neighbors)
      • Family violence, including relationship violence
      • Families with high conflict and negative communication styles
    • Risk Factors in Communities
      • Communities with high rates of violence and crime
      • Communities with high rates of poverty and limited educational and economic opportunities
      • Communities with high unemployment rates
      • Communities with easy access to drugs and alcohol
      • Communities where neighbors don’t know or look out for each other and there is low community involvement among residents
      • Communities with few community activities for young people
      • Communities with unstable housing and where residents move frequently
      • Communities where families frequently experience food insecurity
• Role of Technology
  • Number of children using a mobile device has more than doubled in last few years
  • Parents have legitimate concerns about online safety
  • “Sad fishing” – Predators search “for kids who seem sad, lonely, or depressed based on their public profiles on a variety of social media platforms.”
  • “Online sexual exploitation”
    • Grooming
    • Live streaming
    • consuming child sexual abuse material
    • Coercing and blackmailing children for sexual purposes (“sexploitation”)
• Preventative Measures
  • Child Abuse in General
    • Individuals
      • Caregivers who create safe, positive relationships with children
      • Caregivers who practice nurturing parenting skills and provide emotional support
      • Caregivers who can meet basic needs of food, shelter, education, and health services
      • Caregivers who have a college degree or higher and have steady employment
    • Families
      • Families with strong social support networks and stable, positive relationships with the people around them
      • Families where caregivers are present and interested in the child
      • Families where caregivers enforce household rules and engage in child monitoring
      • Families with caring adults outside the family who can serve as role models or mentors
    • Communities
      • Communities with access to safe, stable housing
      • Communities where families have access to high-quality preschool
      • Communities where families have access to nurturing and safe childcare
      • Communities where families have access to safe, engaging after school programs and activities
      • Communities where families have access to medical care and mental health services
      • Communities where families have access to economic and financial help
      • Communities where adults have work opportunities with family-friendly policies
  • Online Sexual Abuse
    • Familiarize yourself with the apps and online services used by each child and supervise activity
    • Open lines of communication
    • Acknowledge importance of online interactions for children
    • Persistent discussion of online safety over a long period time, beginning early and adjusting to age and maturity of each child
    • Clear and reasonable rules regarding online activity, developed in conversation with each child
    • Deploy technology to assist in child safety, but don’t expect it to replace adult supervision
    • Assist each child in setting and adjusting privacy controls
• Resources – #2022–04–04 Children’s Trust Fund of Alabama Awards Grant to Create Digital Safety Video to Better Educate Alabaman’s Youth
  https://www.einnews.com/pr_news/566781873/children-s-trust-fund-of-alabama-awards-grant-to-create-digital-safety-video-to-better-educate-alabama-s-youth
  – #2022–04–03 April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month: Maui events promote healthy keiki
  https://mauinow.com/2022/04/03/april-is-national-child-abuse-prevention-month-maui-events-promote-healthy-keiki/
  – #2022–04–02 Juneau recognizes Child Abuse Prevention Month
  https://www.peninsulaclarion.com/news/juneau-recognizes-child-abuse-prevention-month/
  – #2022–04–01 Nebraska To Recognize April As Child Abuse Prevention Month
  https://dhhs.ne.gov/Pages/Nebraska-to-Recognize-April-as-Child-Abuse-Prevention-Month–04012022.aspx
  – #2022–03–31 A Proclamation on National Child Abuse Prevention Month, 2022
  https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2022/03/31/a-proclamation-on-national-child-abuse-prevention-month–2022/
  – #2022–03–28 Flickr Press Release
  https://blog.flickr.net/en/2022/03/28/building-a-safer-flickr-for-generations-to-come/
  – #2022–03–16 Protecting children from online abuse
  https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/child-abuse-and-neglect/online-abuse
  – #2021–11–01 How to protect children from online sexual harm
  https://www.internetmatters.org/hub/news-blogs/how-to-protect-children-from-online-sexual-harm/
  – #2021–10–25 U.S. Department of Justice – Keeping Children Safe Online
  https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus/keeping-children-safe-online
  – #2021 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – 2021/2022 Prevention Resource Guide
  https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubPDFs/guide_2021.pdf
  – #2019–12–07 How to Protect Your Children From Online Sexual Predators
  https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/07/us/protect-children-online-sex-abuse.html
  – [n.d.] End Violence Against Children Online
  https://www.end-violence.org/safe-online
  – [n.d.] Prevent Child Abuse North Carolina
  https://www.preventchildabusenc.org/
  – [n.d.] U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime – Online child sexual exploitation and abuse
  https://www.unodc.org/e4j/en/cybercrime/module–12/key-issues/online-child-sexual-exploitation-and-abuse.html
  – [n.d.] U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention
  https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/childabuseandneglect/index.html
  – [n.d.] U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – Preventing Child Sexual Abuse
  https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/childsexualabuse/fastfact.html