December 2022

Dear Friend of Children:

As another year is ending, we reflect back on what MassKids has been able
to accomplish in 2022 thanks in part to the support of concerned citizens
like you. As you may be aware, 1 in 10 children experience sexual abuse,
which can have lifelong negative physical and mental health consequences.
90% of the perpetrators are people known to the child, such as school
employees or even family members.

Recently, 41 former students of a Peabody school gym teacher and coach
filed a lawsuit accusing him of sexual abuse over a period of 27 years. As
this and other cases in schools in Massachusetts and across the country
show, abuse like this could have been prevented if school staff were
trained to recognize sexual misconduct and abuse, and the school had a
comprehensive abuse prevention policy.

That is why through our Enough Abuse Campaign, we continue to work to
prevent child sexual abuse through online trainings of school and youth
organization employees, webinars to educate professionals about child
sexual abuse prevention, and technical assistance to schools to improve
their prevention policies. We also work to pass crucial prevention
legislation on Beacon Hill.

We hope you will consider [1]supporting MassKids and the Enough Abuse
Campaign as we continue our cutting-edge work to keep more children safe
from the devastating effects of child sexual abuse. Here are a only few
highlights of our work this past year:
* Over 15,000 school employees in 150 schools have now completed “Enough!
Preventing Child Sexual Abuse in My School,” our evidence-based, online
training. Evaluations remain strong. As one 30-year veteran teacher in
Lowell stated: “This is one of, if not THE best, trainings I have ever
experienced.”
* We developed a Code of Conduct Policy Guide for schools to ensure their
employees are aware of and avoid boundary-violating behaviors that could
lead to inappropriate sexual behaviors with students. A leading expert on
educator sexual misconduct has called the tool “overwhelmingly complete,
needed, appropriate…a breakthrough piece of work.”
* We launched the “Safety STARS” initiative to provide schools and youth
organizations with expert technical assistance and resources to implement
policies to prevent child sexual abuse.
* We launched the Enough Abuse Campaign in Lynn, Lowell and Medford where
we are actively working with elected officials and community leaders to
educate citizens and professionals about how to keep children safe from
sexual abuse.
* We developed and held bi-monthly meetings of the States Policy
Exchange, a virtual networking and peer support resource for policymakers
and advocates working to pass child sexual abuse prevention legislation in
their states.
* We presented “Movement Building to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse in the
U.S. and Globally,” at the Children’s Rights in the U.S. Conference
convened by Salem State University, Center for Childhood and Youth Studies.
* We presented a 90-minute training “Child Sexual Abuse as a Public
Health Emergency: Strategies Being Implemented to Prevent It,” for Boston
Children’s Hospital staff, sponsored by Boston Children’s Hospital Child
Protection Program.
* We have significantly updated [2]www.enoughabuse.org to better support
the thousands of people who visit our site every month for information and
resources.

At MassKids, every dollar raised is spent strategically to take our
prevention programs and policies to more communities. Your support will
result in tangible outcomes and help us reach our goals faster and for more
children.

[3]Donate to Support MassKids and Enough Abuse

Wishing you and your family a safe and joyful Holiday Season.

For the children,

Jetta Bernier

Executive Director

MassKids

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MassKids
Massachusetts Citizens for Children
112 Water Street
Suite 502
Boston, MA 02109
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