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SafeTouch Success Story

The Center has presented Safe Touch to kids in our community for over 30 years. These violence prevention education programs use evidence-based best practices in age-appropriate lessons to promote safety and reduce child sexual abuse. The curriculum is continually reviewed and updated with teacher and parent input.

Child sexual abuse (CSA) is unfortunately much more common than many people realize. Darkness to Light (D2L), a national organization to end child abuse, estimates that about 1 in 10 children experience sexual abuse before their 18th birthday. Even more children experience non-contact sexual abuse. Only about a third of kids tell someone when they experience abuse. CSA occurs across all demographic groups and can have long-lasting negative impacts such as physical and mental health problems, emotional and behavioral issues, and poor academic performance.

Though the problem of CSA looms large, the Center has a successful prevention program on multiple counts. First, by sheer numbers, we are very successful in getting these crucial public safety messages out to the county. We present SafeTouch programs in every classroom of every elementary school in both local school districts. Overall, we reached 14,805 youth and adults in 865 education programs during the 2013-2014 school year.

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Paint the Town Teal for SAAM!

April is SAAMWelcome to SAAM 2014! We’re excited for another month of awesome awareness-raising events and projects. Sexual Assault Awareness Month is an opportunity to raise awareness about sexual violence and educate ourselves on how to prevent it. By working together, we can make a difference in our mission to stop sexual violence and its impact. Join us in our advocacy efforts, and don’t forget to wear your teal!

Aside from the many awesome events we have planned — cupcakes, anyone? — there are also a few projects you can join in on from the comfort of your couch or while on the go. So whether you’re in your jammies with a laptop or out-and-about with your smartphone, check out how you can get involved…

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