Child Abuse Prevention Month in the Age of Pandemic

It’s hard. Normally in April we’d be sharing all the ways teachers, neighbors, and others can help prevent child abuse, reporting when kids show up to school with unexplained injuries, or kids we suspect are being abused at home or by family contacts.

But now, we don’t really see those kids at all, so it’s a lot harder.

I’m sure you’ve seen any number of articles about how reports have gone way down, and agencies are really fearful about that, because for kids being abused at home, there’s no one to notice.

On the other hand, kids who are in safe homes, who might have been at high-risk for being groomed outside of the home by family friends or trusted coaches, etc. are at a much lower risk, and would also lead to lowered reporting rates, but let’s not kid ourselves about whether those two statements equal out, they do not.

That’s why it’s really incumbent on all of us to keep an eye on kids who we do come in contact with, seeing them play in front of their house, or on family video calls, online classes, etc. Be aware of suspicious stuff and contact the right people.

I was glad to see the CEO of Prevent Child Abuse America on the CNN website yesterday talking about these very ideas. In addition to helpful tips on reducing stress in the household, and avoiding being verbally or physically abusive, they also remind us that there are still services out there to help:

Children who are being abused or neglected are more likely to go unnoticed without teachers and others to help them. (Anyone worried about the possibility of abuse or neglect can still contact the national child abuse hotline: 1-800-422-4423 or childhelphotline.org. Crisis counselors answer calls 24/7 and provide crisis intervention, information, and referrals.)

Some families will find that heightened stress can result in domestic violence which itself deeply affects children. If there is a gun in the home there may be greater risk, and local police are trained to help. (call the national domestic violence hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or by chat at thehotline.org.)