DALLAS (WBAP/KLIF News) – April is National Child Abuse Awareness month and local advocates are encouraging the community to wear blue today to shed light on a startling open secret…child abuse.
Dallas Children’s Advocacy President Lynn Davis said there were over 30,000 reports of child abuse in Dallas County last year.
It’s a number could be higher because advocates have said child abuse can sometimes be under reported due to the fact that the abuser is often someone the child knows.
“It’s someone in their family, it’s their school teacher, their pastor, it’s their soccer coach. It’s touch to believe that people we let into our lives can be a perpetrator,” he said.
He said that’s why he’s encouraging parents to talk with their kids.
“We talk to children about holding your hand when they’re crossing the street, about don’t talk to strangers, if there is a bottle in the sink that has skull and cross bones that is dangerous but we rarely talk to them about what to do if someone touches them in an inappropriate way,” he said.
The Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center and other like it are designed to make it easier to report abuse.
“They can get an interview by a professional interviewer. The police and CPS watch that interview. We can get wraparound services for the family that are displaced because the abusers were in the home. We can get therapy,” he said.
He encourages those who participate to post a picture on social media and tag them at @dallascac on Instagram with the hashtag ‘ShowYourBlue18’.
The organization is also hosting a luncheon Friday, April 20th. You can get details about the event here.
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