Together We Can Prevent the Sexual Abuse of Children |
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Our Anniversary - February 2022
E-News
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Dear Prevention Community,
This year, Stop It Now! celebrates 30 years of contribution to eradicating child sexual abuse (CSA). In 1996, Fran Henry envisioned a new approach, based on restorative justice principles, to sexual abuse prevention that shifted our lens from talking about how to teach children how not to be abused to a focus on adults’ responsibility to keep children safe- specifically on including pathways to provide help and deterrence for adults who were abusing or at-risk to abuse. With our influence, the CDC recognized CSA as a public health issue, and now our library of social change marketing experience, prevention resources and tools, and our compassionate, trauma informed and evidenced-based response models are recognized as a successful movement that can keep us all safer.
We’re not the only ones with an anniversary either; our sister programs in the UK & Ireland, The Netherlands and Flanders (Belgium) all have milestone anniversaries, and we look forward to new Stop It Now! programs opening in Australia and Brussels later this year. We know we have just begun the work necessary to forward our vision that Children Grow Up Free From Any Form Of Violence, but we are proud of what we have accomplished and know that in partnership with so many, we will continue to provide support, information and resources to keep children safe and create healthier communities.
We've set an ambitious goal of $30,000 of special fundraising to plan for our next 30 years. Please help us meet our goal and consider joining our circle of giving with a monthly donation.
Throughout 2022, we will bring to you the voices and stories that have (and continue) to inspire and inform our innovative prevention programming. Stay tuned for announcements of upcoming events and ways to further share and spread the Stop It Now! message of hope that we can prevent child sexual abuse!
We are also adding a new section to our e-news to further thank and celebrate those who support our work. In our first edition of this congratulatory section below, you can read how cyclist Tim Markison brough enormous awareness and support to child sexual abuse prevention with his 3,000-mile journey across the United States!
We are just finalizing our 2021 Helpline data and will have a more extensive report ready, but check out a few of our highlights in our Conversations We’re Having, as well as our annual report. Our Helpline has responded to over 30,000 inquiries since our first call in 1998, and with our newly funded whatsok.org resource and helpline for young people, we continue to open a pathway to compassionate help and guidance for anyone in a position to prevent sexual abuse.
Training and conference life is off to a hopeful start in 2022. We plan on attending some conferences and have gathered a few below for you to consider. And there’s lots to do to get ready for Child Abuse Prevention and Sexual Assault Awareness Month in April.
With care,
Jenny Coleman
Director, Stop It Now!
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Conversations We're Having |
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We are pleased to have received 2nd year funding from the World Childhood Foundation to continue to build out our newest tool that aims to reach young people with concerns about safe sexual feelings and behaviors. In our pilot, over 2,200 people visited the website, and the new helpline received 42 inquiries. Read more about our pilot and what we’ve learned - so far.
In the year ahead, we will expand our campaigns. We are eager to continue learning directly from young people about what they need to support safe and healthy sexual behaviors.
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Annual Report (FY '21)
Our annual report is out. This was both a challenging and exciting year, and we hope you’ll read more about our special projects, perpetration outreach efforts, and collaborations across the globe. However you support our prevention vision, you are reflected in all that we accomplished.
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Helpline Use
In 2021, we responded to 1900 inquiries on our Stop It Now! Helpline. More men are reaching out - over ⅓ of our users identify as male. We continue to reach the global community as well; 12% of our users are internationally located. We continue to hear stories of concerned parents and community members addressing warning signs in the privacy of their homes and within their families - where we know that primary prevention is critical. Every year we learn more about the real life situations facing parents and many other concerned and involved adults, and these stories and experiences continue to inform our resources and guidance to support safety in children’s lives.
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“I can't tell you how appreciative I am for your thoughtful response - you really took the time to give me a lot of resources that I didn't know existed. This is the first I've ever reached out to a third party, and I will definitely follow up with the leads you sent. This information will help us 'be there' for the whole family.”
- An appreciative sibling of a person who had been incarcerated for a sexual offense
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More Conversations We're Having |
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April is Child Abuse Prevention Month and Sexual Assault Awareness Month |
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Visit NSRVC for resources for this year’s Sexual Assault Awareness Month campaign, “Building Safe Online Spaces Together."
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Plan ahead - Many conferences are resuming in-person or using a hybrid of virtual and in-person. We missed seeing many of our prevention partners last year and look forward to increased connection. Here are a few to consider: |
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October 19-21, 2022 - Together for Families Conference (virtual) - Connects various stakeholders from across the U.S. and Canada in the Family Support and Strengthening Field to focus on best and promising practice for supporting families’ advancement.
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A huge congratulations and thank you to Tim Markison for successfully completing his 3,000-mile, 40-day cycling marathon across the United States last fall to raise money for his campaign, Cycle to End Abuse.
Cycle to End Abuse, presented by Interwoven Circles, has garnered a tremendous amount of support for various anti-abuse organizations including Safer Society, CASA, Joe Torre Safe at Home Foundation, and Stop It Now!
You can read Tim's blog that archives his daily journey, learn more about the Cycle to End Abuse campaign, and discover Tim's Story of Hope & Inspiration on Interwoven Circles website.
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© 2022 Stop It Now! All Rights Reserved. |
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