newjerseynewsroom.com

BY SUSIE WILSON

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

SEX MATTERS

The political campaign is in full swing in New Jersey, but we need another kind of campaign in our state and in our nation: a campaign against child sexual abuse that is aimed directly at the victims, children and teens.

The idea is the property of Charles M. Blow, who writes an op-ed column in the New York Times. In his latest column, "No More Suffering in Silence," Blow takes on the tragic subject of child sexual abuse. He starts it out with a bang: "Most child sexual abuse goes unreported." He then cites the following Department of Justice statistics that are definitely not for the fainthearted or squeamish:

• Nearly 70 percent of all sexual assaults are committed against children;
• More than half of all child victims are under 12 with the greatest proportion of assaults reported at age 14;
• Of those under 12, 4-year-olds were at the greatest risk.

Blow then cited a very recent UNICEF report that concludes that worldwide "5 to 10 percent of girls and up to 5 percent of boys suffer penetrative sexual abuse, and up to three times those numbers experience some type of sexual abuse." He calls these numbers "a silent epidemic." I couldn't agree more.

Add to these more recent examples the pervasive child sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests, the discovery of which rocked the nation some years ago.

Let me give you the definition of child sexual abuse that I found on the Sex, Etc. website: "Any sexual act between an adult and child or teenager. This includes fondling, penetration, intercourse, exploitation, child pornography, prostitution, group sex, oral sex, or forcing a child or teen to watch sexual acts."

What the definition does not say is that a great deal of child sexual abuse occurs in the home, in communities, and even in schools, where children actually know the perpetrators and predators.

Rightly, Blow wants something done immediately about this problem. He advocates a public education campaign that "speaks directly to children" and recommends that messages be placed "on Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network, at the beginning of G-rated movies, on classroom bulletin boards, everywhere."

He even provides the campaign with its tag line: "If it feels wrong, it is wrong. Say something. It is your body."

I concur wholeheartedly with Blow's recommendation and suggest New Jersey take the lead in developing and promoting such a statewide campaign. But I'd like to take his approach one step further and recommend that schools not only put the campaign posters on bulletin boards, but also use the campaign as a way to introduce early Family Life education into the K-3 curriculum to start talking with young children about the dangers of child sexual abuse.

A few years ago, the Network for Family Life Education at Rutgers (now renamed Answer) called together a group of experts in child development and sexuality education for the purpose of designing a Family Life education curriculum for grades K-3. The final product is a big book of some 50 lessons, called Learning about Family Life Education. The book includes lessons about teaching young children how to protect against sexual abuse by knowing the names of their private parts and by knowing how to speak to trusted adults if someone is doing something that, as Blow would say, "feels wrong."

Some school districts are using the curriculum, but others find it too controversial for their tastes. Perhaps Blow's statistics will awaken parents and more school officials to the need to start child sexual abuse prevention education much earlier and provide it in the context of gentle, age-appropriate Family Life education.

"Nothing in the campaign should be graphic," Blow hastens to add. I am not sure what he has in mind, but I think children even as young as four need to learn in school and at home the proper names for their private parts, such as penis and vagina, and the simple fact that no one-with the possible exception of a doctor or a nurse in a medical setting, or a parent washing that part of the anatomy-has the right to touch or put anything into these places.

Some years ago, between 1977-79 to be exact, I remember a very powerful campaign sponsored by the National Committee for the Prevention of Child Abuse and the Ad Council. It featured large, black-and-white photographs of beautiful children, each of whom had a single tear upon his or her cheek. The tag line read: "It Shouldn't Hurt to be A Child: Prevent Child Abuse." Later, the campaign used the slogan, "Help Destroy a Family Tradition."

Hasn't the time come for another campaign?

Susie Wilson, former executive coordinator of the Network for Family Life Education at Rutgers University's Center for Applied and Professional Psychology (now renamed Answer), is a national leader in the fight for effective sexuality and HIV/AIDS education and for prevention of adolescent pregnancy. She can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it <!-- document.write( '</' ); document.write( 'span>' ); //--> .

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Hey, New Jersey, ready to talk about sex?

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