Together We Can Prevent the Sexual Abuse of Children |
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Conversations in Prevention |
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Dear Prevention Community,
We hope this summer is feeling safe, and that there is time for fun and ease for you and your families.
Our summer enews discusses why myth-busting is a prevention action step. We then spotlight a local program for adults who use intimate partner violence to find help. Lastly, you can read about our upcoming fall training series, some conferences you want to be aware of, our recent youth survey, and other Stop It Now! updates.
Take care and be well,
Jenny Coleman
Director, Stop It Now!
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Myth-Busting as Primary Prevention |
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When folks ask us, “What can I do to promote prevention?”, we know that one of the strongest steps people can take is to stay informed and try to be a myth-buster.
Myths are barriers that get in the way of people taking steps that will increase the protective factors in a child’s environment and in the child themselves.
An example of a myth acting as a barrier is the frequent question to our Helpline about whether talking early to young children about sexuality and sexual development will actually introduce sex into their lives way before they need to know about anything sexual, and also will this type of conversation and education result in a child’s overly mature and sexualized behaviors.
While it may be preferable to some that the caring and safe adults in a young child’s life control all the information that the child gets exposed to, we know that there is no way to 100% protect a child from images and conversations that in some way relate to sex and relationships. But if we hold on to the belief that we must wait until children are older and “more developed” before talking to them, then they will get this information elsewhere…from the media, from friends, and from sources we have no control over. So we must change this myth from "Children are too young to learn about sexuality development" to "Teaching our children early about sexuality development and safe sexual behaviors helps protect them from abuse".
Another myth that can misinform people is the worry that a person’s sexual orientation will be affected by their sexual abuse. This myth works as a barrier, especially in healing, leading some folks to find it difficult to ask for help because they are afraid of judgments regarding their sexual orientation. It can also affect a survivor’s sense of trust in their own feelings so that they don’t know if their romantic and sexual attractions are the result of their abuse or really how they feel.
So we can bust this myth when we hear it - sharing information that sexual orientation is primarily understood to be biologically based, hence sexual abuse, while possibly having an impact on attractions, is not responsible for sexual attractions to same-gendered people. The article, The Problem with the Belief that a Child Sexual Abuse Causes Homosexuality/Bisexuality, also shared in our advice column, gives more perspective on this question, and while this is an older article, we find the way that it lays out the reasons for why it isn’t productive or accurate to say sexual abuse “causes homosexuality” to be clear and to the point.
So busting myths = primary prevention. When you hear inaccurate information – whether rooted in fear, bias, lack of information – we hope you’ll feel confident to speak up.
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While Stop It Now!’s work is considered more national and even global, our roots are in Massachusetts and we’ve been honored to be a part of a local advisory task group to help a new initiative get off the ground, and reach adults in Massachusetts who use intimate partner violence (IPV) in their relationships.
This initiative, 10 to 10, offers a helpline similar to the Now! helpline, offering guidance and support to help adults find help to stop using or prevent the use of IPV.
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We believe in this model – reaching out to people, building awareness that a resource and support is available to help them choose safe behaviors, and to keep those around them and themselves safe. We wish them lots of success in reaching people who need help to get help, and look forward to continuing our support of this incredible new resource. |
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"I was brought to peace of my situation. Although I felt at peace; I also didn’t feel that my situation was disregarded. I also appreciate the tips and resources provided to me so that I could educate myself even further. Thank you!"
- An Appreciative Helpline User
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Conversations Worth Sharing |
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As we look towards the fall, many conferences are available to keep our prevention community learning and growing. Here’s a couple to consider this year:
Prevent Child Abuse America National Conference
August 10, 2021 – August 12, 2021
(Look for Stop It Now! in the Exhibitor Hall)
ATSA (Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers) 40th Annual Research & Treatment Conference
September 28, 2021 – October 1, 2021
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Conversations We're Having |
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Circles of Safety registration is open!
We'll be hosting another Virtual Classroom Series this Fall including Circles of Safety: Awareness to Action for Youth-serving Professionals and Training of Trainers courses.
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Stop It Now! released the following survey earlier in July for youth between the ages of 14 and 21 to take. It focuses on where young people find help with sensitive and private information so that we can better reach them with the new resources we are developing.
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This survey will remain open until August 9th so we encourage you to continue sharing share this anonymous and confidential survey with any youth you know so that we might gather the most information to make the best resources possible!
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Get Ready for New Helpline Hours |
Stay tuned for some additional availability to talk or chat live with a Helpline consultant as we are adding 6-8 hours to our live schedule soon, and while we wish it was even more, we hope these expanded hours will further break down barriers to accessible support.
If you want to support additional open live Helpline hours, please consider a monthly donation today so that we can count on your gift and further increase our accessibility.
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Stop It Now! is thrilled to have Dylan Gagnon join us as our administrative and communications guru. With a background in communications and film, Dylan brings lots of creative energy to our team.
He’ll be the first voice many talk to – so say hi if you reach out!
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© 2020 Stop It Now! All Rights Reserved. |
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