Violence against young people is a major health issue of our time. Emotional and physical violence against children has reached epidemic proportions in our society. The facts are alarming.
• Rape crisis center and law enforcement officials estimate that one in every three girls and one in every four boys will be sexually assaulted before the age of eighteen. If a child has a handicap, the risk is even greater. It is now estimated by many experts that 80% of handicapped people will be assaulted.
• A Bureau of Justice Statistics Report predicted that, if current crime rates remain unchanged, about five out of six American twelve-year-olds will become victims of attempted or completed violent crimes in their lifetimes. This means that our children have a greater risk of facing a violent crime than of being in a serious car accident.
• According to the American Association of University Women, 85% of girls and 76% of boys reported being sexually harassed. Harassment had clearly more detrimental effects for girls - 70% of girls (24% of boys) said the experience made them very to somewhat upset.
• According to the American Prosecutors Research Institute, there are over 100,000 non family member attempted abductions every year. Although most of these attempts are not successful, the fact that they happen leads to trauma and fear. Reports estimate 3,200 to 4,600 successful abductions. Eighty percent of the victims had the initial contact with the attacker within a quarter mile from the victim's house.
• According to the National Victims' Center, 95% of abuse happens with people children know. Of these, one third are family members- step-parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, siblings, parents and grandparents. The remaining two thirds are other familiar people in a child's life - neighbors, friends, teachers, religious leaders, youth groups leaders, health care professionals, babysitters, and other children.
• Ellen Bass, co-author of The Courage To Heal, which is internationally known as a resource for adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse, has worked with thousands of people who were abused as children. One significant finding of her work is that even what seems to be a "minor" molestation can leave a damaging, sometimes hidden scar.
• According to the National Association of School Psychologists, one in seven school children is a bully or a victim. Bullying affects 5 million school children a year in the United States. Young people who are bullied are at risk of losing their self-confidence, and in extreme cases may commit suicide or become violent.
-updated 2001
Thinking about statistics
like these can be overwhelming. Before we can work
effectively with our children about how to keep themselves
safe from danger, we need to deal with our own
feelings. The good news is that most bad situations
can be avoided if our children know what to do. They
can learn to use clear body language, set appropriate
boundaries, keep safety zones with strangers, deal with
bullies, and get away from most trouble before it
starts. And that is what
KIDPOWER is all about - teaching
these skills to kids (and people of all ages) in an
upbeat, effective way that most kids describe as
FUN!
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