Why disclose sexual abuse? FYI: The average age of an individual who discloses sexual abuse is 52. And that’s if they disclose at all. According to the child safety organization, Darkness to Light, 60% of child sexual abuse victims never tell anyone. So why don’t the 60% disclose? In this blog post, I shared a
I never heard of a Family Code of Conduct until recently. Then a few months back, I attended Darkness to Light’s virtual “Envision” conference where I heard the term mentioned more than once. As a strategy to protect kids. What exactly is a Family Code of Conduct? According to D2L.org, a Family Code of Conduct is,
When Joseph disappeared inside the inn, Mary slid off the donkey. Because her legs trembled so, she leaned against the beast to keep from collapsing. Oh, how she ached from the journey! Had it only been three days? It seemed more like three months, three years even. Though the trip was arduous, it afforded her
Healing from child sex abuse (aka CSA) is serious business. But before we even start the conversation about healing, let’s look at some statistics. CSA happens to girls, and it happens to boys. In fact, current statistics report that in the US, 1 in 10 kids will be sexually abused before their 18th birthday. As a result,
There was a time I personally experienced the Bystander Effect. Keep reading. It’s a heckuva story. Trigger warning: If you’ve been bullied, this piece may make you anxious. My sophomore year of college, Jake and Wilbur lived in the same dorm as me, on the same floor. Since they both sported buzz cuts the color
Here to talk to you about hope after sexual abuse is victim advocate, Melanie Sachs. Trigger Warning: This post includes a description of sexual abuse. Hope is a word we often see or hear in many different contexts. What this word means to me goes beyond the definition you may find when you Google it,
“Better late than never,” as they say. In May 2022, my husband and I, and four other couples, finally made it to Scotland for a couples’ whisky tasting tour originally scheduled for 2020. I’d visited Scotland twice before, along with three of the women on this trip. Because both trips were fantastic, we decided to
Ever since the fourth grade, I’ve known two things: I’d get counseling. I’d write a book. Twenty-ish years ago I accomplished the first thing, and last year I finally accomplished the second. Honestly, I never imagined my first project would be a children’s book. I always thought it would be my memoir. Or maybe a
Have you ever wondered how to keep kids safe? In today’s guest blog post, Angie Conn–one of the bravest and coolest women I know–offers up several great ideas. Angie believes it helps to know, Every person wants to belong. As human beings, we want to have connection and family, and we want to know that
What do you know about online safety for kids? Guest Post by Moe McClanahan…Director of Training & Education at the Safe Surfin’ Foundation It’s important for parents to stay in control of their child’s Internet usage to prevent online victimization. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) is reporting a 97.5% increase in online enticement
