A Safe Family
Nationally, 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys are sexually abused before their 18th birthday. In Alaska, those figures are higher.
A safe family is created through continuous communication and age-appropriate education. Children who are most vulnerable to sexual violence are those that do not have language for their body parts, feel too embarrassed to talk to a parent about sexual activity, and do not have a plan if something should happen.
Protect your family by learning the facts and talking to your children, every day.
Click here to download a copy of "Growing Up Safely: Expert Advise and Perpetrator Warnings to Reduce Your Child's Risk of Sexual Violence"
Additional risk factors for children
- Child is isolated from peers and other family members
- Child raised with parent(s) that abuse drugs and alcohol
- Child that has no understanding of private parts and secret touch
- Child that has little to no communication with a parent, regardless of the issue
- Child is not asked about daily activities and relationships with other children and adults
The Darkness to Light Campaign, a grassroots initiative has developed the
7 Steps to Prevent, Recognize, and React responsibly to child sexual abuse.
Here is a quick overview of the 7 Steps. Click here for the all information.
- Learn the Facts
- Minimize Opportunity
- Talk About it
- Stay Alert
- Make a Plan
- Act on Suspicions
- Get Involved
What Child Molesters Say:
- You know me and you trust me.
- You think you will recognize me, but I can be male or female, adult or child.
- You see me as reliable and stable, a respected person with the family or community.
- You wake up and think of ways to provide for your family. I wake up and think of ways to victimize your child.
- You think I only groom children, but I charm you as well
- You look to me to help you with your child and think I really love him/her.
- You see me touch your child in a playful way, which confuses him/her because you are okay with it.
- You’ve heard me talk about child sexual abuse with disgust.
- You probably think that you know all your child’s likes and dislikes, but I know more.
- You think your child would tell you if I’ve touched him/her, but none of the other children have ever told.
- You trust me so much, that you will hesitate to believe your child.
- You think there is a time and place to teach your child about sex, but I have already.
- You think that because I work around children all the time that I must be trustworthy.
- You think that I could never do this to my own children.
What Child Victims Say:
- I didn’t know I could say NO to an adult.
- I loved him. He was my best friend.
- I liked the attention; no one told me it shouldn’t be happening.
- He told me that you wouldn’t believe me.
- He told me you would be ashamed of what I did with him.
- I thought I would be in trouble by telling anyone.
- I felt sorry for him because he was lonely and no one understood him.
- I hated doing those things, but I didn’t want him to get into trouble.
- No one ever asked me if anything like this had ever happened.
- I told you and you didn’t believe me.
- I lied and said it never happened.
- I thought it was okay because sometimes he hugged and kissed me right in front of you.
- He was the only person I could talk to, so I lied when you asked me if something had ever happened.
- You trusted and loved him; I thought I should too. You always needed his help I didn’t want to upset you.
- He threatened to hurt you.
- He would have done it to my little sister too if I hadn’t kept quiet.