If you’ve read about the accusations against Penn State’s former football coach, you realize that children could have been saved from sexual abuse if the person who observed an incident - or any of those who were told about it - had contacted law enforcement. So a reminder for those who live and work in New York State: report child abuse and maltreatment to our state’s child abuse hotline at 1-800-342-7472. However, call 911 or your local police department immediately if you witness a child being abused, as happened at Penn State.
Just as important, perhaps even more so, we must stop this kind of harm from occurring in the first place. Child sexual abuse can be prevented when parents and other adults in the community understand the realities of child sexual abuse and have tools to protect children. It is seldom “stranger danger,” but almost always someone close to the child and family. Our friends at Enough Abuse offer information and ideas in Six Prevention Tips to help all of us meet our responsibility to protect our children. We encourage you to read them and to share them with your friends, family and community.
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