General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Anyone who thinks an adult telling about being molested as a child is a liar -- [View all]LiberalEsto
(22,845 posts)I spent a year working for the Metropolitan Center for Assault Prevention in Montgomery County, Maryland about 15 years ago. I feel strongly about this issue, for obvious reasons.
CAP is a wonderful program that puts on programs at public and private schools -- including nursery schools and preschools -- to teach children strategies for avoiding abuse and disclosing it to a safe adult. It's been around for decades, is international, and at one time was offered in every public school system in NJ. http://internationalcap.org/
We worked in small teams that went to schools and did assemblies. After we put on our program in a school -- this involved doing role-plays that showed children better ways to respond to bullying or abuse -- we always stayed to talk to kids one on one and answer questions. Sometimes children got up the nerve to report being abused. We were intensively trained to listen and respond to these children, and to report their disclosures to principals as well as to the county's child protective services immediately. We had to remain on the spot, with the child, until CPS arrived and started an investigation. We never knew what became of these investigations, but I'd like to hope that some children were relieved of their burdens and helped.