Today, the Alliance of Southwest Missouri is taking a stand against child sexual abuse.
We would urge you to do the same.
Jasper and Newton counties don’t compare well with most of the other counties in Missouri in the number of incidents of child sexual abuse.
Consider that nationally:
-- One in four girls and one in six boys are sexually abused before their 18th birthday.
-- One in five children is sexually solicited on the Internet.
-- Most child victims never report the abuse.
-- And, sadly enough, in more than 90 percent of cases, the child and the child’s family know and trust the abuser.
Today is the second day of the organization’s second annual HOPE Conference. It’s an event aimed at helping you learn what you can do to increase the safety, health and ultimately the success of the children in your lives and the community you live in.
There will be a full day of free workshops for social service professionals, child care providers, faith-based professionals and concerned community members. That pretty much amounts to all of us.
The response has been so great that the location had to be changed to College Heights Christian Church in order to meet the needs.
Prevention is the key when fighting the societal epidemic of child sexual abuse.
We applaud the efforts of those involved in bringing this outstanding program to Joplin.
More importantly, we support those who will attend the conference in hopes that they can make a difference.
Children shouldn’t have to fear the very people charged with keeping them safe. If we keep turning our heads the other way, we’ll never put an end to this crime.
