Understanding Child Abuse

What is child abuse?  How does it occur?  Who commits it?  What are the signs to look for?  How can I prevent it from happening?  These are all questions that we have asked ourselves at one time or another.  Abuse, as defined by the law, is clear.  Abuse, as defined by the general public, is vague.  What you consider to be abuse may be considered to be the norm by someone else. 

Knowing about child abuse and how to prevent it can answer some, if not all, of the questions above.  If you click on the title of this blog it will take you to the site for the Lampion Center which is located in Evansville, Indiana.  The center is home to some of the best, and brightest, advocates on the planet.  They live and breath child abuse.  They teach others how to spot it, report it and how to help those that have been affected by it.

The center is a United Way agency and they take child abuse VERY seriously.  They have a unique program called Stewards of Children.  It teaches those, who care, how to be a steward for children.  It teaches more than the basics.  It is an in-depth program that outlines child abuse.

Did you know that most abuse occurs between a child and a family member?  The abuser is usually someone that the child trusts and loves.  It can be the very nice, sweet uncle Eddie, or the caring, understanding father of four, or the knowledgeable, cookie-baking sweetheart mother of two.  The fact of the matter is that abuser don't look like criminals.  They don't look like a street thug.  They look like the person next door, the esteemed Professor, the trusted police officer, the devout Christian leader of the church etc..

Knowing how to spot abuse is the first step in saving the life of a child.  Knowing what to look for and what to do once you know is the second step in getting a child the help that they need to recover from it.  A child will never come up to you and tell you that they are being abused.  They will even lie about the abuse once it is known.  A recent case just came to light here in the tri-state area.

A devoted father of two admitted to molesting his children over a six year span.  You can read about the story here.  It is a story that most, who have been abused, can tell.  As parents we are aware of, and afraid of, the stranger danger.  We don't teach our children about the dangers that lurk inside the home.  They need to know that they should exercise caution around family members.  The difficulty comes when the abuser is the biological parent.

How do you tell a child that daddy shouldn't be touching you there if you don't know that daddy is touching them there?  How do you tell an 11-year-old boy that mommies don't sleep on top of them when mommy has been doing that since they were 5?  To the child THAT is normal.  To the child THAT is what mommy's and daddy's do.  That is where the Lampion Center comes in.  They teach you how to spot abuse that may be happening in your home as well as in the homes of others.

They teach you what you need to know.  They teach you how to spot abuse.  They teach you how to save the life of a child.  They are, in my opinion, an extension of me.  They do what I do.  They teach what I teach.  They advocate for the rights of children.  They will be there for the daughters of the man in the story above.  They will put the pieces back together and they won't give up until they do.  They are a life giving, life sustaining organization that is fighting back, and speaking out, about child abuse.

Please visit their website and find out more about them.  You will be glad that you did and grateful that they exist.  I know I am...