Stop child abuse: 'Be sure as sure can be' when trusting another with your child
4/9/2013This past weekend, I had the opportunity to briefly attend the Yell & Tell: Stop Child Abuse Now Rally at the Lourdes University’s Franciscan Center.
I don’t have children of my own, but as an aunt of two toddlers, I get upset when I hear about people preying on children. My niece and nephew light up my world. Their smile, their innocence, their happiness brings so much joy to my life. To know that someone would want to shatter their world and that innocence angers and disturbs me.
I spoke to Pam Crabtree, the founder of Yell & Tell, which aims to prevent child abuse, about how my parents protected me, my sister Lorie, and my brother Michael from harm. They had a strict rule about sleepovers. We were not allowed to attend them.
Mrs. Crabtree said that 1 in 6 boys will be sexually abused by the time they are 16. The rate for girls is 1 in 4.