Continuing Education

Darkness to Light:
Stewards of Children
Laurie Heim
SWK 4910
What is Darkness to Light?

 National non-profit organization

 Goals
 Raise awareness about child sexual abuse
 Educate adults on what signs to look for and how to handle a child who is
the victim of sexual abuse
 Empower adults to be proactive in helping to protect children from sexual
abuse
Did you know…

 About 1 in 10 children experience child sexual abuse before their 18 th birthday

 Children who are sexually abused are more likely to experience the following during
their childhood and as adults:
 PTSD
 Anxiety & Depression
 Substance Abuse
 Aggression
 Sexual promiscuity
 Teen pregnancy
 Homelessness
 Health issues
 Suicide
5 Steps to Protecting Children

 Step 1: Learn the facts

 Know what sexual abuse is
 Anysexual act between an adult and a minor, or between two
minors, when one exerts power over the other.
 Includes non-contact acts such as exposure to pornography or
communicating in a sexual manner on the phone or through the
internet, exhibitionism, and voyeurism
5 Steps to Protecting Children

 Step 1: Learn the facts

 Recognize its prevalence
 1 in 10 sexually abused before 18th birthday
 Youth are the victims in 66% of all sexual offenses reported to the police
 Youth are 2.5 times more likely to be raped than adults
 35% of child victims are 11 years old or younger
 Children in foster care are 10 times more likely to be sexually abused than children living
with both parents
 Children who have a single parent with a live in partner are 20 times more likely to be
victims of sexual abuse than those living with both parents (This group is at the highest
risk)
 9% of youth aged 10-17 receive unwanted sexual requests on the internet; 23 % receive
unwanted exposure to pornography
5 Steps to Protecting Children

Understand how it occurs

 90% know their abuser
 30% are abused by a family member
 60% are abused by people the family trusts
 40% are abused by older or more powerful children
 10% are abused by a stranger

 Most victims never report the abuse

5 Steps to Protecting Children

 Step 2: Minimize Opportunity

 80% or more of the sexual abuse incidents happen in isolated, one-on-one situations
 Steps to take in order to minimize the opportunity
 Eliminate or reduce isolated, one-on-one situations with children. Instead choose group
situations and have more than one adult supervising if possible
 Make sure interactions can be observed and interrupted if necessary
 Anticipate “situational risks” that could occur
 Monitor what children are doing on the internet
 Screen people who will be working with children
 Ex: Background checks, interviews, personal and professional references
5 Steps to Protecting Children

 Step 3: Talk about it

 It is important to have age-appropriate conversations about our bodies, sex, and
boundaries
 Understand why children are afraid to “tell”
 Be able to recognize a child's attempts to talk about it
 Be able to talk openly with the child
 Good touch/bad touch
 It is okay to tell anyone NO
 Don’t force children to give affection
 Speak and listen calmly—it is important that children feel safe and loved--that will help
them to feel more comfortable talking
5 Steps to Protecting Children

 Step 4: Recognize the signs

 Physical signs (not as common) can include
 Bruising, bleeding, UTI, STD’s, abnormal discharge
 More common physical signs: anxiety, chronic stomach pain, headaches
 Emotional/Behavioral signs
 “too perfect” behavior, withdrawal, fear, depression, unexplained anger, and being
rebellious
 Nightmares, bedwetting, falling grades, animal cruelty, bullying, self-harm
 Sexual behavior and using language that is not age-appropriate
 Some children begin to use alcohol or drugs at an early age
5 Steps to Protecting Children

 Step 5: React responsibly

 Listen calmly and openly
 Don’t fill the gaps
 Allow for silence in the conversation to that the child can take their time talking
 Don’t ask leading questions about the details
 Ask open-ended questions
 Let the child know that you believe them and that it is not their fault
 Seek help from a professional
 Report the abuse to police and/or CPS—We are MANDATED REPORTERS
5 Steps to Protecting Children

 Once abuse has been reported, request use of children’s advocacy center
 Safe, child-friendly environment
 Number of interviews that a child must undergo is reduced because it can all be
done there instead of the child having to re-tell everything multiple times

 To find your nearest children’s advocacy center, contact National Children’s

Alliance at:
 www.nationalchildrensalliance.org
 1-800-239-9950
My certificate
References

 Darkness to Light’s Stewards of Children. (2013). Interactive workbook: Your

personal prevention plan. www.D2L.org