One out of three girls and one out of five boys experience sexual abuse before the age of 18, according to Enough Abuse—a national campaign to end child sexual abuse. April marks National Child Abuse Prevention and Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and Children’s Home Society (CHS) is committed to raising awareness and stopping all forms of abuse.
To stand in solidarity, the Department of Social Services provided dozens of blue pinwheels to Children’s Home Shelter for Family Safety to display and raise awareness about ending child abuse and sexual assault. CHS believes that prevention and education go hand in hand. Education not only helps people recognize the signs of abuse but also teaches them how to respond with care and accountability when they see it.
“No one expects to need this knowledge, yet the reality is staggering: nearly every minute, someone in the U.S. is sexually assaulted, and every nine minutes that person is a child. These numbers underscore why awareness matters and why our presence matters,” said Kate Feilmeier, Program Director at Shelter. “Displaying blue pinwheels is just one small way we show survivors they are not alone, there is hope and we are here to provide help and safety.”
Abuse is often preventable, and communities nationwide are coming together to help end this crisis. CHS hosts nearly 150 training events each year; many focus on child abuse prevention through Enough Abuse’s curriculum. These trainings help individuals better understand signs of abuse and what they can do to help protect children.
Jessica Broullire, Child Advocacy Center Assistant Director, organizes these trainings and believes they are beneficial to everyone—from a caregiver to a professional—and consistently provide valuable and informative guidance.
“Awareness trainings turn concern into action. They help adults recognize signs of abuse, respond with calm support in the moment and follow through with clear reporting steps,” said Broullire. “Protecting children means knowing how to act immediately and who to involve.”
This month’s training series focuses on recognizing signs of abuse, identifying grooming behaviors in adults, understanding child abuse as a public health issue and learning how to respond to disclosures while keeping kids safe.
In addition to offering prevention and education trainings, CHS incorporates child abuse awareness into other services such as Forensic Interviewing in the Child Advocacy Center and in Residential Treatment programs.
Along with the trainings, CHS staff will also participate in Denim Day on Wednesday, April 29. Staff are encouraged to wear denim as a visible show of solidarity with survivors of sexual assault.
Denim Day began after an Italian court overturned a sexual assault conviction because the survivor wore tight denim jeans. The court argued that the jeans were too difficult to remove without the survivor’s assistance, an example of victim-blaming that sparked international outrage. Advocates responded by wearing denim to stand with the survivor and to challenge myths and misconceptions that continue to silence victims.
To learn more about CHS’s prevention and education trainings, visit our website at chssd.org/prevention.
