Abuse Awareness Month

April is abuse awareness month. Join us in focusing on preventing abuse before it escalates by promoting Pinwheels for Prevention. This blog was born because of a legislation that proposed to supposedly prevent child abusers from “hiding” under South Carolina’s homeschool law. Now, it the time for the homeschool community to consider these concerns and get proactive about child abuse prevention.

“I think there’s going to be an epidemic of abuse survivors in the next 10-20 years…if there isn’t one already,” quoted from an abuse survivor’s letter in 2015 to Frank Shaeffer.

This is a problem, friends. We can’t ignore it. So let’s talk about abuse awareness month.

It would be much easier for us to think: Not me, not my problem. Until you hear the suggested solution to the problem: tighter regulations on homeschooling.

How much more regulation?
How intrusive will the regulations be?
And how effective will the increased regulations actually be?

Then, it is our problem. And we react to the proposed solutions as if that’s the real problem.

Abuse Awareness Month

Child abuse occurs at every socioeconomic level, across ethnic and cultural lines, within all religions and at all levels of education (source). We are not immune to the problem, just because we homeschool.

Rather than hurling accusations at one another and chasing down abuse after the damage has been done...*what if * we focus on preventing abuse before it ever escalates? April is Abuse Prevention month and we’ll be focusing April’s blog posts on building protective factors. Let’s talk more about improving our support communities and promoting where we can find tools and resources to help us in that endeavor. Knowledge is power.

There are already laws in place to catch child abuse. We also have laws against driving drunk and agencies that catch drunk drivers. But, if your friend is about to drive drunk, you’d grab the keys and offer a ride or call an Uber. This is prevention.

Child abuse prevention works like that too. Everyone can benefit from raising awareness of scope and problems associated with child abuse and neglect. Join us in turning toward prevention.

Share prevention messages
Take the pledge for prevention
Support the organizations that promote prevention
Learn the warning signs of abuse and neglect
Stop abuse before it escalates

Pinwheels For Prevention

Pinwheels represent happy, healthy carefree childhood every child deserves and the commitment to giving them the opportunity to thrive in a safe and nurturing environment. They are an uplifting symbol used to draw attention from the problem of abuse and neglect to the solution of effective prevention.

Blue pinwheels a symbol of happy childhood

photo credit: pinwheels for prevention

This is my favorite way to broach the discussion about child abuse. We can all agree that children deserve a happy childhood. Pinwheels represent that happiness of childhood.

I am just coming to terms with the adverse childhood experiences I had because nobody talked about it back then. Talking about it now is an important step toward doing better with this generation.

Children’s Trust is our state chapter of Prevent Child Abuse America and leads the Pinwheels for Prevention Campaign in South Carolina. Pinwheel gardens are springing up around the state. Join in and show your support. If you would like to plant a pinwheel garden, pinwheels and support materials are available for a nominal charge.

Let us know if you or your group is sponsoring a Pinwheel Garden
—Share your photos with us!