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Welcome to the MassKids Chronicle, our quarterly e-newsletter where we share the latest news about our Enough Abuse Campaign to prevent child sexual abuse, and how you can get involved and take action in your home or community. |
"Straight Talk About Child Sexual Abuse: A Prevention Guide for Parents" - Updated! |
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Every parent is concerned about keeping their children safe from those who might sexually abuse or exploit them. Our “Straight Talk” Guide gives parents the information and skills they need to strengthen safety within their family and community and reduce the risks of sexual abuse. The Guide has been updated to include a new section on the 25 Adult Boundary-Violating Behaviors parents should talk to their children about and another about online child sexual abuse and internet safety. Download your free Prevention Guides for Parents today. |
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“Straight Talk” is available for bulk purchases and for localization by states, counties, and organizations. For more information please contact us at [email protected]. |
Enough Abuse Launches Training Curriculum to Address "Problematic Sexual Behaviors" of Children and Adolescents |
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Findings from national surveys of youth and their parents/caregivers (Gewirtz-Maden and Finkelhor, 2019, Child Maltreatment), document that in over 70% of child sexual abuse cases disclosed to researchers, the harm was caused by another child. |
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In response to growing requests from schools, youth organizations and parents for guidance on this issue, MassKids revised its longstanding curriculum, “Understanding and Responding to Sexual Behaviors of Children,” to include the latest about PSB or problematic sexual behaviors of children.
The updated training is an interactive training that increases the knowledge and skills of professionals to:
- Identify “developmentally expected” sexual behaviors in children;
- Distinguish them from behaviors that are concerning, and/or illegal;
- Respond to all sexual behaviors in ways that promote the healthy development of children and teens.
Scenarios are presented describing sexual behaviors of children and adolescents that participants might witness in day care settings, schools and other youth organizations. Small group discussions provide an opportunity to learn how to assess and respond to these behaviors in ways that model good communication, empathy and accountability. These responses can build protective factors in children and teens to reduce their risks to be victimized or to engage in PSB.
An initial group of 80 child welfare professionals that completed the training this fall gave it high marks, e.g. “Down to earth, engaging, real; appreciated chance to “practice” with scenarios and developmental levels. Excellent training!"
For information about how you can bring this in-person or virtual professional development training to your organization, contact [email protected].
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Franklin County Community Forum on Child Sexual Abuse Prevention
MassKids and its Enough Abuse Campaign recently partnered with the Franklin County Regional Council of Governments and the Children’s Advocacy Center of Franklin County and North Quabbin to host a Community Forum on Child Sexual Abuse.
Speakers included Northwestern District Attorney, David Sullivan and Dr. Jeffrey Trant, Executive Director of the regional Children’s Advocacy Center. MassKids Executive Director Jetta Bernier delivered the training on Enough Abuse: Strategies for Your Family and Community. Watch the recording.
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“Communities need to be made aware of what we’re dealing with…I’m the first one to say, it is easier to prevent a crime than it is to prosecute it, because as you know, many times child victims are so scared…My number one priority is to keep kids safe, and this type of prevention program is so important because you can talk to people about the signs of child sexual abuse and how to prevent it… We can prevent child abuse on so many different levels if we do it as a community…
I have three daughters and I don’t want a single child to be abused, in Franklin County, Hampshire County, or anywhere else, because we could have prevented it. We could have made that difference for that person just by listening tonight to what Enough Abuse has to tell us, but also we have to have the will to keep it going and make sure that we keep spreading the word.”
Northwestern District Attorney, David Sullivan
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Legislative Briefing Held to Promote Passage of Key Bills to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse in Massachusetts |
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MassKids held a virtual Advocacy Briefing to educate citizens, policymakers and advocates about a package of bills that when passed, will prevent child sexual abuse in Massachusetts homes and communities. |
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Sen. Joan Lovely and Rep. Natalie Blais discussed the history of these bills and what each will accomplish. Survivors of childhood sexual abuse shared the many compelling reasons why passage is so crucial. If you want to see how advocates and legislators work together to fight for laws that can really impact the safety of our children, watch this event. You will be inspired and moved to take action. Watch the recording. |
Advocating to "Pass the Prevention Package!" |
Pictured above, MassKids E.D., Jetta Bernier and Child USAdvocacy E.D. and MassKids Board Member, Kathryn Robb, testified at the Joint Committee on the Judiciary Hearing at the State House. MassKids and our network of survivors and allies continue to advocate to "Pass the Prevention Package!" in Massachusetts this session. At the hearing, we presented our Open Letter to Legislators, which was signed by over 250 citizens, expressing the need to "Pass the Prevention Package" now and arguing that “delay is no longer defensible". |
"Massachusetts has a black eye... Despite the thousands of victims and survivors in every city and town and within every legislative district, the Massachusetts Legislature has failed to act. As a result, we face another Legislative Session when Massachusetts remains stuck between its ranking as the best state for children and its less than poor showing when it comes to protecting them from this major safety threat."
MassKids' Open Letter to Legislators
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Read our recent Citizens to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse e-news alert to learn more. Massachusetts citizens can help "Pass the Prevention Package!" using our quick and easy Email Campaign feature that will send an email to your Senator and Representative and ask them to support these child sexual abuse prevention bills. Click the button below, enter your name, email and address, and an already drafted email will automatically be generated and sent. You can choose to edit it, or send as is! |
MassKids’ “States Policy Exchange” to Address Alarming Increases in Online Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) |
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While Congress is currently considering federal legislation to address staggering increases in incidents of online child sexual exploitation, states are already moving to address how their current statutes on child sexual abuse material (CSAM) should be updated to include prohibition of computer-generated sexual visual depictions of children, including photo edited, morphed, collaged or AI-generated images, and how to limit the spread of CSAM online. |
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The November meeting of MassKids' States Policy Exchange will host National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) policy experts, Susan Kennedy, Director of Community Engagement, Daton Lynch, State Policy Council, and Daniel Spino, Legislative Affairs Manager, to update the Exchange about the issue of online child sexual abuse, and state legislation recently passed or introduced to address these issues, e.g. TX, LA, CA, RI, and MA. They will also provide updates on key federal bills being considered, including the Stop CSAM Act, the SHIELD Act, and the Earn It Act/Child Online Safety Modernization Act (COSMA).
Email us here to join the next States Policy Exchange Meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 14th from 1-2:30pm EST. Visit the States Policy Exchange page to view past meeting recordings and notes.
More about this resource…
The States Policy Exchange is a national bi-monthly online information-sharing and peer support platform for child advocates, survivors, legislators and others seeking to advocate for child sexual abuse prevention policies and laws in their states. It was launched by MassKids in 2022 as a follow up to a 3-Part Webinar Series for Policymakers and Advocates held in November 2021 that provided over 80 advocates from 25 states an opportunity to learn more about MassKids’ “A Call to Action for Policymakers and Advocates: Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Legislation in the States". This 112-page report, released nationally in June 2021, is the only resource in the U.S. that continuously tracks child sexual abuse prevention legislation in all 50 states.
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Enough! Prevention Courses Reaching More Schools & YSOs |
The Enough! Preventing Child Sexual Abuse online courses have been completed by over 15,000 staff at 165 schools and youth serving organizations (YSOs) in 9 states.
School superintendents and principals, school committee members, and leaders of youth organizations can preview the one-hour online course(s) at no cost to consider adopting the training for all their staff.
Evaluations document the courses’ effectiveness in increasing: knowledge about child sexual abuse and its prevention; the ability of staff to identify boundary-violating behaviors before they can escalate to illegal sexual offenses; and confidence/willingness of staff to report suspected cases and incidents disclosed by youth.
Make your organization a safer place for children! Email us at [email protected] for a free preview. Download our informative flyer to share with your leadership team.
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Join us for Say "Enough!"
Prevent Child Sexual Abuse With MassKids
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Whether you have attended an Enough Abuse training, subscribed after visiting one of our websites, or heard about us in other ways, we would like to invite you to join us for this free virtual fundraising event where you will learn how you can prevent child sexual abuse with MassKids, on Wednesday, Dec. 6th from 12pm-1pmEST via Zoom. |
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Help us ensure the right of every child to a safe childhood free from sexual abuse and exploitation. |
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