When children are abused, they begin to question themselves and their world because it destroys two essential beliefs:

• Their sense of trust, and
• Their sense of control over their lives.

Most victims must deal with the physical and emotional shockwaves of what happened, but also with the sense of helplessness, powerlessness, and a loss of control – not to mention the fact that most perpetrators are the victim’s own parents or caretakers!

Unlike the common response when victims are attacked by strangers — which is to retreat into a childlike state, and when the immediate danger has passed, to turn to an authority figure for help like a police officer or nurse — the child abuse victim lives with the perpetrator(s) and thus is silenced and receives no care. This is part of what makes child abuse so heinous.

What would help children and adult survivors is that when they finally do tell someone, the person hearing about the abuse should react in a normal fashion. That is, that the child’s or survivor’s reactions of anger, fear, frustration, guilt, and grief are normal for what they experienced. Anyone would react that way to a criminal act against their bodies. And yet, sadly, that is not the response the child or survivor receives. Instead, they are made to feel like something is wrong with them, the victims, instead of holding the perpetrators accountable.

Instead of blaming the victim, it is more helpful to say things like:

• “You are safe now.”
• “It wasn’t your fault.”
• “You didn’t deserve what happened to you.”

In her book, “Trauma and Recovery” Dr. Judith Herman states, “People who have endured horrible events suffer predictable psychological harm. There is a spectrum of traumatic disorders, ranging from the effects of a single overwhelming event to the more complicated effects of prolonged and repeated abuse. Established diagnostic concepts, especially the severe personality disorders diagnosed in women, have generally failed to recognize the impact of victimization.” So have most Americans who have been lucky enough not to be abused as children.

Dealing with child abuse trauma means that survivors have to come face-to-face with the knowledge of the evil perpetrated against them. The sad reality is that the American public doesn’t want to know or doesn’t care about this unspeakable truth that exists for tens of millions of survivors.  By speaking and writing publicly about America’s denial and lack of support for survivors, I am trying to turn that behavior around. We have to start a dialogue and to support all survivors who work very hard to recover, and I am committed to doing just that.

Source: http://www.wearesurvivors.org/?p=1099

ANTIPOLO City— Feb. 8, 2010— Senatorial contender Liza Maza of Nationalista-Makabayan party has sounded the alarm over the increasing number of abused children in the country.

“This is alarming. The rising cases of child abuse only manifest government neglect on the rights and welfare of children. As a signatory to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, our government should be in the forefront in ensuring that our children are protected from all forms of abuse,” said Maza, a three-term representative of Gabriela Women’s Party.

Maza is one of the authors of the Anti-Violence against Women and Children Act or Republic Act 9262, a law that aims to protect the family and its members particularly women and children from violence and threats to their personal safety and security.

Citing reports from an advocacy group and the Philippine National Police’s National Women’s and Children’s Protection Desk, Ms. Maza said that there about 200,000 children that have experienced abuse.

In 2009 alone, the PNP-WCD received 9,787 cases of child abuse, about a thousand higher than the 2008 record.

The United Nations Children’s Fund also reported that there are more or less 75,000 child sex workers in the Philippines, making the country fourth on the list of countries having a large number of prostituted children.

“This situation should be addressed in no time! Failure to protect our children from abuse is not only an indignity to the current administration, it also speaks strongly about their underhanded priorities,” she said.

Maza also challenged all aspirants for the 2010 national elections to lay down their plans for the Filipino children. (Noel Sales Barcelona)

Source: http://www.cbcpnews.com/?q=node/12126

The Charlotte-based Duke Endowment says it has awarded more than $56 million in new community grants to organizations across the Carolinas, including more than $5 million to the Raleigh-based North Carolina Hospital Foundation and $2 million to the Duke University Center for Child and Family Policy.

The endowment, which is separate from Duke University, allocated $3 million of the $5 million in N.C. Hospital Foundation grants to support the North Carolina Hospital Association Center for Hospital Quality and Patient Safety. In addition, $1.02 million was directed to the foundation to expand networks of care for the low-income, uninsured population in North Carolina; $477,339 to support the North Carolina Rural Health Center, $360,900 to support a Web-based data collection program for hospitals; and $250,000 to establish a comprehensive tobacco-cessation system in North Carolina hospitals.

The grant to the Duke University Center for Child and Family Policy in Durham will help fight child abuse and neglect.

In total, the $56 million funded 185 grants, including $24 million for education and $18 million for health and wellness programs.

The Duke Endowment, established in 1924 by industrialist James B. Duke, is the largest private foundation in the Carolinas.

“These 2009 grants stand as a solid testament to Mr. Duke’s legacy,” says Russell M. Robinson II, chairman of the endowment’s board.

The endowment also awarded a number of grants to other Triangle nonprofits. Here is a listing of them:

• North Carolina Conference, United Methodist Church; $800,874; To provide pensions to retired ministers and widows and dependent children of deceased ministers.;
• North Carolina Conference, United Methodist Church; $270,000; To help make the North Carolina Conference office LEED certified.;
• North Carolina Conference, United Methodist Church; $15,000; To assist with health ministries and congregational nursing consultations.;
• North Carolina Conference, United Methodist Church; $35,000; To support a consultant position that will establish, evaluate and improve the quality of child care programs.;
• Foundation for Nursing Excellence; $327,920; To expand a model program for nurse education and training.;
• North Carolina Institute of Medicine; $64,553; To develop the Healthy North Carolina 2020 Objectives and Annual Progress Tracking Report.;
• North Carolina Foundation for Advanced Health Programs; $543,993; To expand a statewide medication assistance program.;
• North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services Office of Emergency Medical Services; $121,000; To support the EMS Performance Improvement Center.;
• Rex Hospital; $100,000; To expand the Urban Ministries Open Door Free Medical Clinic for the low-income, uninsured in Wake County.;
• Care Share Health Alliance; $297,655; To expand community networks of care for the low-income, uninsured in North Carolina.;
• North Carolina Conference, United Methodist Church; $50,000; To assist rural United Methodist churches with accessibility projects.;
• Foundation for Nursing Excellence; $62,500; To increase the number of Bachelor of Science in Nursing graduates in North Carolina.;
• WakeMed; $150,000; To expand services at Alliance Medical Ministries, a free clinic in Wake County.;
• Lutheran Family Services in the Carolinas; $33,500; For unrestricted operating support for maintaining national accreditation.;
• Methodist Home for Children; $33,500; For unrestricted operating support for maintaining national accreditation.;
• Prevent Child Abuse North Carolina; $200,000; To disseminate evidence-based practices and advance policy discussions around child abuse and neglect.;
• Prevent Child Abuse North Carolina; $124,144; To help implement the Incredible Years and Strengthening Families in North Carolina. A collaboration between Child Care and Rural Church.;
• North Carolina Division of Social Services; $415,000; To implement Family Finding in six counties.;
• N.C. Center for Nonprofits; $5,000; To support organizations in North Carolina.;
• Children and Family Services Association – NC; $173,252; To provide training and scholarships to staff of children’s homes in North Carolina.

Spartanburg, S.C. - According to the Children’s Defense Fund (2008), a child is abused or neglected every 49 minutes in South Carolina. In Spartanburg County, 392 substantiated cases of child abuse and neglect were recorded in 2007. In 2003, Spartanburg County reported the highest number of indicated cases of child abuse in South Carolina. Sadly, surrounding counties in the Upstate have similar statistics.

With these facts in mind, the Spartanburg Community Indicators Project and the University of South Carolina Upstate’s College of Arts and Sciences have joined together to host A Brighter Future: Ending Child Abuse Through Advocacy and Education Conference. It will be held March 19, 2010, from 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. at the Marriott Renaissance Hotel in Spartanburg, S.C. The registration fee is $25 ($15 for students).

According to Dr. Jennifer Parker, associate professor of psychology and conference organizer, the program is designed to target a broad audience of concerned citizens and professionals.

The objectives of the conference are to impart a greater understanding of the problem of child abuse and the serious impact on child development and the community; to educate those working with children on how to recognize the warning signs and understand prevention and intervention methods; and a call to action for those working with children to stop child abuse.

The event’s keynote speaker is Victor Vieth, director of the National Child Protection Training Center (www.ncptc.org). He has trained thousands of child protection professionals from all 50 states, two U.S. territories, and 17 countries on numerous topics pertaining to child abuse investigations, prosecutions and prevention. He has published countless articles related to the investigation, prosecution and prevention of child abuse and neglect. Vieth is also the author of Unto the Third Generation, an initiative that outlines the necessary steps we must all take to eliminate child abuse in America in three generations.

The guest speaker is David Finkelhor, director of Crimes Against Children Research Center (www.unh.edu/ccrc) and professor of sociology at the University of New Hampshire. He has been studying the problems of child victimization, child maltreatment and family violence since 1977. In 1994, he was given the Distinguished Child Abuse Professional Award by the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children and in 2004 he was given the Significant Achievement Award from the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers.

The day’s schedule includes a continental breakfast and lunch, and addresses by John Dargan, president and CEO of the Spartanburg County Foundation; Dr. John Stockwell, chancellor USC Upstate, Hope Blackley, crime victim’s ombudsman with the Office of the Governor; Susan Walkup, executive director SC Network of Children’s Advocacy Centers; Bill Herrick, executive director Spartanburg Children’s Advocacy Center; Nancy Henderson, MD, child abuse pediatrician, Greenville Children’s Hospital; Suzanne Mayes, child abuse attorney, SC Commission on Prosecution; and Trey Gowdy, solicitor, Seventh Judicial Circuit. Dr. Jennifer Parker and Dr. Diane Daane, professor of criminal justice, will make a special presentation about exciting new child advocacy initiatives at USC Upstate.

Conference registration forms as well as additional information on continuing education credits, sponsors and more, is available online at www.uscupstate.edu/childadvocacyconference.

Source: http://www.uscupstate.edu/press/article.aspx?id=32172