WRITTEN BY: JAYNEEN SANDERS 

As a parent and an educator I find the statistics below both confronting and horrifying. However, they do highlight the reasons WHY we need to teach the children in our care Body Safety from the earliest of years. Such age-appropriate knowledge is empowering for children, and might well be the difference between a child becoming one of these statistics or not.

As an advocate for Body Safety Education in both homes and schools, I have heard many sad and crippling stories from adult survivors; but it’s this one shared comment that stays with me, “If only I had known from the first inappropriate touch it was wrong, my life could have been so different.”

I am not a survivor of childhood sexual abuse but I am a mother and teacher who believes we can do better by our kids. We need to put our adult fear of this topic aside, and take on the responsibility of educating our children so they know to tell, and keep on telling until they are believed. We also have a responsibility to educate ourselves so we know the signs of sexual abuse and grooming. Believing a child when they disclose sexual abuse is of the utmost importance, as is our reaction to the disclosure.

These statistics are a call to action for parents, carers and teachers everywhere — let’s educate ourselves and our kids in Body Safety, and like any good “ripple effect,” let’s educate others to do the same! I am asking you to play your part. Ironically, you may never know but your advocacy could positively change a child’s life forever. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

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SAN ANTONIO — A mother and her girlfriend have been arrested and charged in connection with the death of a 2-year-old girl. Police say the child’s mother, Shari Newman and her live-in girlfriend, Letica Young, have both been charged with capital murder. The incident happened Saturday night at an apartment on Fairhaven near Datapoint on the Northwest Side. Officers were called to Methodist Children’s Hospital concerning the death of a 2-year-old Saturday. When they arrived, they noticed bruising on the child and called for homicide detectives. The detectives then examined the child and found bruising all over her body and believed it was obvious some sort of abuse had taken place. READ MORE HERE

WARREN, Michigan – A new father is in jail accused of killing his own 4-month-old baby girl. Brandon Dunmire is charged with first-degree murder and first-degree child abuse. Naomi Reese was killed Tuesday inside her mother’s home in Warren near 11 Mile and Hoover roads. Warren police said Dunmire called 911 saying his daughter was not breathing. Paramedics found Naomi unresponsive. READ MORE HERE

Tishomingo Police Officer Russ Robinson committed suicide March 24 after admitting to authorities he had molested minors. His admission came after the Alcorn County Sheriff’s Department, with assistance from the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, questioned the 53-year-old officer about allegations he molested a 17-year-old boy after flashing his headlights to get the teen to pull over. A day after that questioning, Robinson was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound inside his home in the Crossroads Community near Iuka. READ MORE HERE