Sexual abuse is one of the most insidious kinds of abuse. It involves an older or more powerful person exercising control over a child in a way that demeans the child as a human being. Sexual abuse can have serious, long-lasting effects on children, including affecting their development and their ability to relate to others.

Vermont (and other states across the country) first got serious about child sexual abuse in the early 1980’s. Prior to that time, many people denied its very existence. Even in child welfare systems, staff did not routinely ask about the possibility of sexual abuse.

We are now all too aware of the prevalence of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church back in the 1970’s. At the time, most adults did not want to believe such a thing could happen within such a trusted institution. Once detected, pedophiles within the church and in many child-serving professions were often moved out quietly. Parents’ biggest fear was the “lurking stranger” who might try to abuse and/or abduct their children. Little did we know that 98% of child sexual abuse is committed by people known to the children and their families.

Acknowledgement of the problem came in the 1980’s. Child abuse laws were changed. People throughout the criminal justice, social services, and educational systems were trained. New protocols were established. The number of cases reported to child welfare agencies rose rapidly. And most people working in and around these systems were exposed to prevention efforts.

Over the years, Vermont has remained a leader in the prevention, intervention, prosecution, and treatment of sexual abuse. However, the ante was raised in June of 2008, with the horrible sexual assault and murder of 12 year-old Brooke Bennett. A detailed analysis of this situation, by both the legislative and executive branches of Vermont government, resulted in the passage of Act 1 in early 2009. The new law calls upon government officials to attack this issue in new ways, including increased record checks, new options for prosecution, specialized probation officers, and new special investigation units connected to law enforcement.

Additionally, a number of provisions in Act 1 focused on preventing child sexual abuse in the first place. Here’s an update on several of these prevention-focused initiatives:

• Educating Children about Sexual Abuse and Sexual Violence:
  Act 1 requires Vermont schools to include instruction about recognizing and preventing sexual abuse and sexual violence in comprehensive health education — effective July 1, 2011. To help schools meet this mandate, a working group, which includes representatives from the Vermont Sexual Violence Prevention Task Force, the Department for Children and Families (DCF), the Department of Education (DOE), and other partners, developed a Technical Assistance Guide. The guide provides best practice recommendations for a school-wide and community approach to prevention. For more information, contact Donna McAllister, DOE, at (802) 828-1636 or Donna.McAllister@state.vt.us.

• Educating Staff and Volunteers About Child Sexual Abuse:
  Act 1 requires school boards and licensed child care facilities in Vermont to ensure staff and volunteers receive orientation on the prevention, identification, and reporting of child sexual abuse and sexual violence — effective July 1, 2011. To help schools and child care facilities meet this mandate, DCF commissioned a special Vermont edition of the Canadian Center for Child Protection’s Commit to Kids program —a program that helps child-serving organizations create safe environments for children. For more information, contact Priscilla White, DCF, at (802) 241-1942 or Priscilla.White@ahs.state.vt.us.
   
• Community Outreach:
  Act 1 requires the Agency of Human Services to implement a community outreach plan to raise awareness about the nature and extent of child sexual abuse. The community outreach workgroup submitted their outreach plan to the Vermont Legislature on November 15, 2009. The plan includes:
  • Creating a child sexual abuse prevention website. The website (protectkids.vt.gov) was launched on April 6, 2010.
     
  • Creating and disseminating public service announcements about child sexual abuse. Three PSA’s (one for television and two for radio) began airing on May 17, 2010 and will run throughout the summer and into September. To view / listen to the PSA’s, click on the links that follow: Television PSA, Radio #1, Radio #2
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  • Producing outreach materials. A poster, rack card, and parent’s guide are being produced to educate parents and other adults about child sexual abuse and what they can to do prevent it. These materials will be available soon on the protectkids.vt.gov website.

All of these efforts represent exceptional collaborative work by DCF staff in partnership with staff from the Department of Education, the Department of Health, the Sexual Violence Prevention Task Force, community groups, advocates, sexual abuse experts, and other partners. I especially want to thank Karen Crowley, Priscilla White, and Lynn Bruce for their exceptional work in this endeavor.

We must prevent child sexual abuse. Vermont’s children will be better protected than ever through these efforts, which must be sustained over time. We must not simply react to tragedy, but keep our focus year in and year out.
 

Steve R. Dale, DCF Commissioner