Advocate | Founder Defend Survivors | Owner Worthy & Wonderful Shop | Writer | Social Media Strategist
This is the reality that children face and what we have to change. If you’re preparing for the upcoming #childabusepreventionmonth - this is what needs to be addressed. So many people only focus on getting children to tell, but we need to also focus on what happens when they do. Organizations spend huge amounts of money and time on ‘prevention’ programs, but if we don’t have systems in place to protect a child when they do tell, you’re just dropping the child into an abyss of more trauma. Prevention is a child believed, protected, and defended and a perpetrator stopped from harming again. #childabuseprevention #childadvocacy #believeprotectdefend
Still astounds me that children are not believed. Does anyone not understand that a child would choose upheaval, separation from their caregiver, risk emotional neglect, conflict in the family and all the rest for such an untruth? I was offered foster care after my abuse was completely ignore and not believed by my entire family, including my mother. Yet I was expected to be sent away while my abuser was fully supported. Staying in an environment where you're not believed or supported in any way was still a better option than leaving my home, my siblings my friends to go to foster care.
Until or unless a case of suspected abuse is substantiated, children go right back home to their abusers. We must all do better.
Exactly what happens.
It is sad how true this statement is. It doesn’t help that we have failing external institutions & services.
Exactly
😢
"ACEs science can prevent school shootings; first people have to learn about ACEs science." Jane Stevens, ACEsConnection
6moSad but true. We blame victims. Shame victims. Make it so hard for them to sense they are trusted. The perpetrator is innocent until proven guilty. The victim suffers the guilt of what happened (did I bring this on myself?) as well as the guilt of upsetting the status quo, as well as the SHAME of having endured the crime, and is considered doubtful until, when? The stigma follows them the rest of their lives — unless they are incredibly healthy and can “shake it off” (easier said than done and highly unlikely in our activating society). So the perpetrator is innocent until proven guilty and the victim is often doubted to the grave. Which re-traumatizes the victim. Again and again. Little wonder so many victims just roll on, and more would were it not for the chance to lock up or see some type of reform made mandatory for the perpetrator. Wonder what I’ve missed? Please correct and improve this answer.