What a journey the past 2.5 years have been since God called me to establish, Advocate for the Innocent. This was not a journey I envisioned for myself, but at this stage I can clearly see why God has called me for this purpose. My family dynamics, background, education, life experiences and a strong passion for justice have given me the necessary tools to effectively create awareness about child abuse prevention. Several major obstacles have delayed our progress:
- Most people are uncomfortable talking about child abuse prevention
- The majority of people believe that child abuse won’t impact them personally
- Many people are not aware that child abuse affects 1 in 5 children
- Distractions and obligations consume our time and child abuse is easier to ignore
- Parents and caregivers often fall victim to the “Not My Child” Syndrome
- Misconceptions about predators tend to minimize the actual threat
It is challenging at times to fight the frustration of not seeing more forward progress, but I’m motivated to continue this vital work because sparing one child’s innocence is worthwhile to me. My resilience comes from knowing that 95% of child sexual abuse can be prevented through education and creating awareness.1 Now that I have a better idea of why our progress has been significantly hindered, I’m inspired to advocate in new ways that simplify our message and clarify our mission.
Last night, I enjoyed a free concert at Millennium Park in Chicago, IL with a few friends. As the sun lowered across the skyline and the reggae vibes sparked a ripple effect of bopping to the beat, dancing to the rhythm and enjoying a community of individuals making the most of a summer night in the city… I noticed a little girl, dancing and running around, who seemed to not have a care in the world. Her dad kept a close eye on her as she darted through the crowd, chasing bubbles and watching other children nearby play together.
At one point, she came running towards where we were sitting and she started looking around, left to right, back and forth, each turn of her head confirming she wasn’t sure where she was, and she couldn’t visibly locate her dad. I saw the glimpse of panic and we locked eyes. I smiled really big at her and pointed in the direction of her dad who was closely watching me. She looked his way and when she saw him, she smiled the biggest smile I’ve seen in a long time and ran in his direction. I watched her run to him and he looked back in my direction and thanked me.
This is it! This is what child abuse prevention is all about!! We don’t need hours of training, hundreds of books or years of education by properly trained experts. We simply need to be present. We need to be aware of our surroundings and every child that is within our reach. You don’t have to be a parent to be an advocate. You just have to care enough to look out for those who can’t defend themselves. If you are interested in becoming an Advocate for the Innocent member and gaining access to our Resource Center ($10/month or $99/annually), visit https://advocatefortheinnocent.org/memberships/.