Child Abuse Recovery Journal

The new home of Suite101's Child Abuse & Recovery Feature Writer, Susan Maree Jeavons. Susan is a child abuse survivor who provides articles, commentary, poetry, support, and information on topics related to child abuse.

Sunday, April 15, 2007

April-Child Abuse Awareness & Prevention Month

Seattle Washington-March 30, 2007
A self-professed 45-year-old pedophile was caught taking pictures of local little girls aged 3 to 11, playing, riding their bikes, at dance recitals, and just being children, and was posting them on his Internet pedophile website called Seattle-Tacoma-Everett Girl Love, which has temporarily been taken down. The police say they can do nothing, since he has not broken any law, and has no criminal record. The community is outraged, as they should be!

Monday, April 02, 2007
Wayne County Michigan
A mother offered an undercover policeman her 7-year-old daughter for sex, porno-anything goes. She even brought several outfits for the child, and told the undercover cop that the child would cooperate with anything he wished to do to her.

These are just two headlines that when I heard them, I became enraged!

April is Child Abuse Awareness & Prevention Month, but I think we have become more aware, thanks to the Internet and the news. The problem is that we have not become involved enough. We must let our legislators know that we expect them to take a tough stand with anyone that is convicted of harming a child. Demand no plea bargaining for child molesters and murderers. No early releases, and mandatory life in prison for repeat offenders.

If you suspect that someone you know is abusing or exploiting a child, please contact the proper authorities. You may remain anonymous.

Here are some helpful links:

FBI-Crimes Against Children Unit
http://www.fbi.gov/hq/cid/cac/innocent.htm

Prevent Child Abuse America
http://www.preventchildabuse.org/index.shtml

Child Help USA
http://www.childhelpusa.org/

National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
http://www.missingkids.com/
24-Hour Hotline 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678)

National sex offender Web site launched. The U.S. Justice Department launched its online National Sex Offender Public Registry site today at nsopr.gov, allowing users to perform a single search of the sex offender registries of 22 states simultaneously. According to the Justice Department, data from the remaining state public sex offender registries are expected to be added to the NSOPR within six months. http://www.nsopr.gov


U.S. CyberWatch
A private citizens Internet Neighborhood Watch whose goal is to inform you about the danger that exists for children in chat rooms. That danger is real, and it is a much bigger problem than most people realize. It's a dark, ugly issue and one that many people don't want to face head-on. U. S. CyberWatch does what it can to protect our children from predators on-line.
For More Info:
http://www.uscyberwatch.com/


The Child Abuse Prevention Network
http://child-abuse.com/
The Child Abuse Prevention Network is the Internet Nerve Center for professionals in the field of child abuse and neglect. Child maltreatment, physical abuse, psychological maltreatment, neglect, sexual abuse, and emotional abuse and neglect are our key areas of concern. We provide unique and powerful tools for all workers to support the identification, investigation, treatment, adjudication, and prevention of child abuse and neglect. Originally launched as an outreach effort of the Family Life Development Center, the Child Abuse Prevention Network is sponsored by LifeNET, Inc.


Administration for Children and Families
http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/
The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is a federal agency funding state, territory, local, and tribal organizations to provide family assistance (welfare), child support, child care, Head Start, child welfare, and other programs relating to children and families. Actual services are provided by state, county, city and tribal governments, and public and private local agencies. ACF assists these organizations through funding, policy direction, and information services.