Speaking for Those too Young to Understand
Child abuse is a national calamity that is appalling and often draws violent and emotional reactions. South Carolina has improved in child well-being the last several years, and statistics from Kids Count now indicate that we have risen from 45th to 42th in the nation for child well-being. While this is a step in the right direction, more can be done to save our innocent children from the atrocities of child abuse. Improvements can be made in how cases handled, through how many cases are responded to and the response time, and how information is permeated throughout the public, especially the amount of education given to children.
According to the Department of Social Services, 37% of child abuse …show more content…
I finally spoke about it to my friends one night at a sleepover shortly after July 4th, and remember them asking if I was being molested. I did not even know what the term “molestation” meant. I do not remember receiving any education about child abuse of any type except a coloring book that I received in class one day in second grade that was about a little girl at the beach where an older man asked to touch her in her bathing suit area and how she was supposed to say no. I did not link the coloring book to my situation. There should be more education for students and teachers past elementary school. I cannot recall a single lesson or guest speaker talking to us about signs, what the boundaries are, and where to go for help. If I had been more aware of the definition of child abuse, then I would have been able to understand the situation more clearly. Children should be able to know exactly what classifies as child abuse, to whom they can go for support and advice , and they should be made well aware that no matter the circumstance, it is not their fault. Social media would be a great tool to use for this because there is a diverse group of children on these websites. Having pages set up with a number for child abuse hotlines, FAQs about child abuse, and basic information on all types of child abuse can make a big difference in the education of the community. South Carolina’s deficient ranking in child welfare should make South Carolina take steps immediately to address these issues and permeate the public with knowledge of the abuse and how children may seek help. It should be required of schools to implement more activities so kids understand that what is happening to them is actually
Child abuse is a national calamity that is appalling and often draws violent and emotional reactions. South Carolina has improved in child well-being the last several years, and statistics from Kids Count now indicate that we have risen from 45th to 42th in the nation for child well-being. While this is a step in the right direction, more can be done to save our innocent children from the atrocities of child abuse. Improvements can be made in how cases handled, through how many cases are responded to and the response time, and how information is permeated throughout the public, especially the amount of education given to children.
According to the Department of Social Services, 37% of child abuse …show more content…
I finally spoke about it to my friends one night at a sleepover shortly after July 4th, and remember them asking if I was being molested. I did not even know what the term “molestation” meant. I do not remember receiving any education about child abuse of any type except a coloring book that I received in class one day in second grade that was about a little girl at the beach where an older man asked to touch her in her bathing suit area and how she was supposed to say no. I did not link the coloring book to my situation. There should be more education for students and teachers past elementary school. I cannot recall a single lesson or guest speaker talking to us about signs, what the boundaries are, and where to go for help. If I had been more aware of the definition of child abuse, then I would have been able to understand the situation more clearly. Children should be able to know exactly what classifies as child abuse, to whom they can go for support and advice , and they should be made well aware that no matter the circumstance, it is not their fault. Social media would be a great tool to use for this because there is a diverse group of children on these websites. Having pages set up with a number for child abuse hotlines, FAQs about child abuse, and basic information on all types of child abuse can make a big difference in the education of the community. South Carolina’s deficient ranking in child welfare should make South Carolina take steps immediately to address these issues and permeate the public with knowledge of the abuse and how children may seek help. It should be required of schools to implement more activities so kids understand that what is happening to them is actually