Ways to protect our children

I am writing about children being abused. I think there should be tougher laws in Massachusetts concerning this matter. You are always hearing about this in the news. It’s still a big issue!

According to Fox News, a recent report by the Center for Disease Control reported that one in 50 U.S. infants is a victim of child abuse (www.foxnews.com). From 1987 to 1997, Massachusetts had a 98 percent increase in the number of children reported for abuse or neglect. This study came from the national database institute. They compiled 91,000 infant subjects, including 30,000 infants that were aged one week or younger. In the Massachusetts State Call to Action report, they used a sample of 1,000 children who were reportedly abused in order to study child abuse in Massachusetts. They discovered that “neglect was the most common type of maltreatment in Massachusetts in 1997, totaling about 68 percent of substantiated cases, followed by physical abuse at 24 percent.”

The national average for substantiated sexual abuse cases is 15 percent. In Massachusetts, it is only 6 percent. But even though the percentage of substantiated sexual abuse cases in Massachusetts is less than half the national average, it is still too high! (www.masskids.org)

We are supposed to trust our parents, teachers, and neighbors. But we know that some children have been victims of their abuse. How can we as a people keep all of our children safe when we know there are some parents, teachers, and neighbors that are abusing them? These adults are people who you’re supposed to trust with our children!

We should be aware that child abuse still exists. More people should be getting involved by being trained to recognize the warning signs of abuse in children. These trainings should be offered in schools. Once people are educated on the warning signs, they will be able to notify the police of child protective services when there is a suspicion of child abuse. And finally, we should have tougher laws on people who abuse children by putting them behind bars!

A. Johnson
Crittenton Women’s Union
Woman to Woman Program Participant