In light of child abuse prevention month – well, let every day be child abuse prevention day! That said:-
Florida state prosecutor Stacey Honowitz who has supervised the Child Sex Crimes unit for 27 years, said child sexual assault has become an epidemic.
“I had a 3-year-old in my office the other day, three and a half years old and she was able to talk, and she was able to talk about what daddy did,” Honowitz said.
The problem is that many kids are not able to talk specifics because they aren’t taught about all of their body parts at a young age.
“Nobody wants to talk about their private parts,” Honowitz said. “Nobody wants to talk about being violated, and nobody wants to go in front of a crowd and have to talk about their vagina or their breasts or their butt.”
She said identifying body parts at a young age with the anatomically correct names is critical.
Having witnessed and cross-examined perpetrators, having heard the stomach-turning testimony of young children time and again, Honowitz decided to write a book to jump-start the conversation parents should be having with kids.
Her first body safety book, “My Privates are Private,” is easy for kids to read and understand.
The message is clear; talking about private parts is not taboo, others touching privates parts, is taboo.
Honowitz said if a child does come to you to report sexual abuse there are a few questions you should ask (When? Where? Show me what they did? Did they say anything to you?) and then leave the rest to law enforcement to investigate.
As an attorney, she advises parents not to ignore an outcry and not to put words in a child’s mouth.
I am sure there is a lot more to be read and said on this topic…. so don’t stop here!
For a link to Stacey Honowitz’s books click here.
Melanie Nathan
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