One of the most heart-wrenching trends I’ve seen in the last few years is children (mostly young girls) being coaxed to take nude photos of themselves and then selling them to adults.
At that age, they don’t realize what they’re being subjected to, though the adults involved certainly do. And those adults greedily, and happily, traffic in this perversion and exploitation against minors.
All these youngsters know is they’re getting money for something, and in a household where finances might be tight, the additional income may mean new clothes, jewelry or God forbid, food. Only later does the emotional monster of those youthful actions come back to haunt these minors with trauma. And by then, their photos likely have been all over the world.
This is just one of the issues of abuse and exploitation that we at the Children’s Advocacy Center of Brevard (CACB) contend with daily. Because April is National Children Abuse Prevention Month, I ask that you keep the victims of child abuse at the forefront of your concerns, as well as the army of therapists, counselors, lawyers and law enforcement on the Space Coast who collaborate in this seemingly never-ending battle.
The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention estimates that at least one in seven U.S. children have experienced child abuse or neglect in the past year. Rates are five times higher for children with a lower socioeconomic status.
And it’s not only emotionally devastating, but there’s also a financial cost. In the United States, the total lifetime economic burden associated with child abuse and neglect was about $592 billion in 2018, the CDC says. That number has only increased in the last five years.
This month you’ll be seeing blue pinwheels and blue ribbons throughout Brevard County. A blue ribbon is an international symbol of Child Abuse Prevention. This was chosen to represent the bruised and battered bodies of abused children.
The Blue Ribbon Campaign began in the spring of 1989 when Bonnie Finney of Virginia lost her grandson, Michael Dickenson. The 3-year-old died at the hands of her daughter’s abusive boyfriend. Bonnie tied a blue ribbon to her car—symbolizing the blue of her grandson’s bruises—and encouraged her community to do the same.
What can you do to help? Educate yourself and others. Learn about services in Brevard County and what you can do to ensure they area available to families.
If you suspect a child is being abused, neglected, or abandoned, call the state abuse hotline at 1-800-962-2873. For emergencies, call 911.
By Jeanie Raciti, Executive Director of the Children’s Advocacy Center of Brevard