National Child Abuse Awareness Month

(http://swaysuniverse.com/first-aid-with-kelly-kinkaid-april-is-child-abuse-awareness-month/)

This month is national awareness month for something that sadly happens and that is Child Abuse.  National Child Abuse Prevention Month is a time to acknowledge the importance of families and communities working together to prevent child abuse and neglect, and to promote the social and emotional well-being of children and families (ABOUT, n.d.). Here is National Child Abuse Prevention Month journey throughout the years (ABOUT, n.d.) :

• 1974-The first Federal child protection legislation, CAPTA was signed by President Nixon on January 31, 1974 and marked the beginning of a new national response to the problem of child abuse and neglect.
• 1982-In 1982, Congress resolved that June 6-12 should be designated as the first National Child Abuse Prevention Week.
• 1983- President Reagan proclaimed April to be the first National Child Abuse Prevention Month
• 1989-The blue ribbon campaign is a memorial to children who have been affected by abuse and neglect.
• 2005-There was renewed commitment to make child abuse prevention a national priority.

Here are some very sad statistics about child abuse (Child Abuse Statistics, n.d.) :

• In 2015, an estimated 1,670 children died from abuse and neglect in the United States
• in 2015, Children’s Advocacy Centers around the country served more than 311,000 child victims of abuse, providing victim advocacy and support to these children and their families.
• Nearly 700,000 children are abused in the U.S annually. 
• CPS protects more than 3 million children. 
• The youngest children were most vulnerable to maltreatment.
• About four out of five abusers are the victims’ parents
• Of those alleged to have abused children, nearly a quarter were themselves children.

Blue Ribbon Week:   

(http://www.facesofchildabuse.org/documents/ICON%20Blue%20ribbon%20white.jpg)

April 2nd -8th is reserved for National Blue Ribbon Week.  The blue ribbon stands for Child Abuse Prevention and it is displayed in memory of all of the children lost to child abuse and in support of child abuse prevention.  Why is it blue? It is blue to represent the bruised and battered bodies of the thousands of children that are abused everyday. 

References:

ABOUT. (n.d.). Retrieved April 03, 2017, from https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/preventing/preventionmonth/about/Child 

Abuse Statistics. (n.d.). Retrieved April 03, 2017, from http://americanspcc.org/child-abuse-statistics/


Prevent Child Abuse. (2012). Retrieved April 03, 2017, from http://www.facesofchildabuse.org/blue-ribbon-movement.html 

<3 Amanda